Stem Cell Research: At the Crossroads of Religion and Politics
An overview of the stem cell debate in America examines the science behind stem cell technology and looks at public opinion trends.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Publications
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McCain’s Lead Among Evangelicals Smaller than Bush’s in ’04
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a smaller lead among white evangelical Protestants than Republican George W. Bush had at a similar point in the 2004 campaign, even though Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has made few inroads into this key constituency. Those who are unaffiliated with a particular religion, on the other hand, are […]
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Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics
Embryonic stem cell research, which uses special cells found in three- to five-day-old human embryos to seek cures for a host of chronic diseases, has sparked a major moral and political debate in the United States. In the 10 years since University of Wisconsin scientists announced they had harvested potentially life-saving cells from surplus embryos […]
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The Science Behind Stem Cell Research
For decades, stem cells have attracted the attention of medical researchers and others because they have the capacity to develop into specialized cells that make up a variety of organ and other tissues. These so-called “building blocks of nature” can literally transform into any other type of cell in the body, making them potentially invaluable […]
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Declining Majority of Americans Favor Embryonic Stem Cell Research
While a majority of the American public still favors embryonic stem cell research, surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press show that the size of this majority has declined somewhat in recent years. Indeed, after showing consistent increases in the early […]
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Stem Cell Research Around the World
The United States is only one of many countries playing an important role in stem cell research. In the last decade, several European and Asian countries have become leading centers for the study of stem cells and their possible therapeutic uses. These countries, along with countries from other regions of the world, have greatly expanded […]
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Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Stem Cell Research
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. The group has no explicit policy on the issue; rather it states that “one must be guided by one’s own relationship with God and Scripture.” David Maraniss, “Editorial: Everything is Relative.” PittsburghPost-Gazette, August 26, 2001. Correspondence with representative from the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. In this research […]
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Quotes on Stem Cell Research
Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 18, 2006, in an address to an international congress sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life and the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations: The destruction of human embryos to harvest stem cells is “not only devoid of the light of God but is also devoid of humanity” and “does not […]
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The Case For Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Interview with Jonathan Moreno
Scientists largely agree that stem cells may hold a key to the treatment, and even cure, of many serious medical conditions. But while the use of adult stem cells is widely accepted, many religious groups and others oppose stem cell research involving the use and destruction of human embryos. At the same time, many scientists […]
