What is a Life?

I was somewhat incensed when I read about President Bush, yes our esteemed leader, who vowed to veto (apparently the first veto of either term) any legislation on stem cell research that the Congress provided. Perusing Yahoo! newsfeeds has become a daily habit of mine. What was ridiculous is the "culture of life" that the President and his cronies in the Congress are promiting. Luckily not all of our Congressmen, and even some Republicans such as Arlen Spencer, are advocating the lifting of federal obstacles to further research (CNN ARTICLE HERE). I fail to see what the harm is in furthering medical knowledge. Yes, there are "slippery slopes" in medicine and the worries about "playing God". These debates raged when cloning was first on the forefront. It continues to rage in legislation for physician assisted suicide. But when you take a look at it, do embryo's constitute life? I suppose it depends on your definition of life. I fail to see how any reasonably educated person can call a few cells human life. There is the potential for human life, that is true, but definitely not LIFE. After all, the vast majority of IVF (in vitro fertilization) implanted embryos do not mature into fetuses. If we are to assume that life exists in these brainless, heartless, potential cells, then are we to assume that life exists in our sperm or our eggs? Shall an OB/GYN be considered a murderer hundreds of counts when they perform a hysterectomy on a woman to save her life or when they "tie her tubes" at her own request? (I seriously hope no one would agree to that, but somewhere there is someone who might and that frightens me).

What is going to happen to those embryonic cell lines? Most of them will probably be destroyed. Where is our culture of life oh esteemed leaders when we withhold funding and initiative to save the lives that are already burning brightly? Those children with incurable cancers, diabetes, and neurologic diseases? I'm not saying that stem cells hold all the answers, but they are a promising possibility that deserves further research. And now I shall get off my soapbox and hope that the Congress has enough votes to show our idiot President that HE does not hold the DEFINITIVE right to say what all americans think. It's time we told and showed him that america is not a playground for his conservative agenda.