CREATE A MARKET FOR HUMAN BEINGS AND SOMEONE WILL HARVEST THEM FOR YOU:

Romney's stem cell view may upset the right: Use of excess embryos at issue (Scott Helman, February 11, 2007, Boston Globe)

Unlike many on the right, Romney supports research on excess embryos created during fertility treatments. Because couples are making embryos to have a baby, he reasons, it is ethical to use the leftovers for research when they would otherwise just be discarded.

Romney's position, however, is at odds with the views of many conservative anti abortion activists, who believe that any work on stem cells derived from human embryos is wrong, because it destroys the embryos in the process. Some say Romney's views make him unacceptable to many voters and will complicate his attempt to win the 2008 GOP nomination by appealing to the party's conservative flank.

Romney's views on stem cell research, which have drawn little public scrutiny amid the static over his shifts on abortion and gay rights, are sure to attract more attention with Congress poised to pass a bill expanding federal support for human embryonic stem cell research, the latest flashpoint in a long-running debate about the sanctity of life and when it begins.

You can't be the conservative alternative if you aren't.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 11, 2007 12:00 AM