THESE AREN'T QUESTIONS, THEY'RE ARGUMENTS (via Kevin Whited):

Majority of Americans on board with stem cell research, UT study finds (Mary Ann Azevedo, September 10, 2004, Houston Business Journal)

Nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, of Americans support the use of discarded embryos for stem cell research, according to a new poll commissioned by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and conducted by Zogby International.

The nationwide, 61-part survey on health issues also found that 72 percent of those polled support the use of stem cells for finding treatments for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's or juvenile diabetes; while more than half (55 percent) do not believe it is "ethical" to conceive a child to harvest stem cells to save an existing child's life.

If this is really the form the questions took they're nearly meaningless--it's almost push-polling. Asking about already discarded embryos will obviously render a different response than asking if embryos should be discarded in order that cells be harvested. Suggesting that stem cells will be effective against dread diseases will change the response, as will not differentiating between adult and embryonic cells. And "child" is a more loaded term than embryo.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 13, 2004 6:29 PM