[The Dude]

[ QUOTE ]
Is "destroying" life in the "hopes" of saving many more lives in the future justified?

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not necessarily convinced that a fertilized egg is "life." I really don't know where to draw the line to when specifically human life begins. In the absense of a definitive answer by science to this question, I prefer to play it safe. I'd rather err on the side of considering it life too early than too late. Where exactly that line is, though, I don't know.

In the absense of solid scientific evidence, I rely at least somewhat on my gut feeling. Abortion, even very early term, feels very wrong to me. The morning after pill, and embryonic stem cell research do not feel wrong. I'm not entirely comfortable with the morning after pill, but I don't have anywhere close to a strong enough opinion on the matter to pass judgement on anybody who does use it.

I do feel that the benefits of embyonic stem cell research greatly outweigh any trepidations I have to killing a fertilized egg. If science somehow comes up with an answer that definitavely identifies conception as the moment life begins, I'll revisit my opinion on stem cell research.