The Stem Cell Initiative on the upcoming November ballot is unethical and deceptively worded. Proponents of this initiative want to create life via in vitro fertilization (or IVF) and human cloning to only harvest the embryonic stem cells (ESC) that supposedly and allegedly hold great promise. Adult Stem Cells (ASC) not only offer more promise than ESCs, but they have delivered on treating a myriad of diseases. To get ASCs, one does not have to take life; to get ESCs one does have to take life. Doesn’t the idea of creating life only to destroy it repulse you? While the initiative bans human cloning, it allows somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). SCNT is the technical term for cloning! Thoughtful Christians need to pray for discernment, read the ballot initiative very carefully and apply Biblical principles when voting.
Minister Luke Bobo
Covenant Theological Seminary