The Ethics of Killing

Yesterday, in announcing his decision to oppose President Bush's policy against funding stem cell research that kills human embryos, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he is still pro-life. I hate to break this to him, but acknowledging the embryo's humanity while encouraging its destruction (even "within ethical bounds") is not pro-life. Even John Kerry said he believed life begins at conception, and he, too, supported ending that life.

Frist’s attempt to reassure his political base and maintain his presidential viability is doomed. In a press release, Tony Perkins, who heads the conservative Family Research Council, said ominously that Frist “once had Presidential aspirations.” Bob Scheidt, chairman of the ethics commission of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, said, “We’re shocked, because we as Christian physicians thought Frist was one of us."