Stem cells

I don't believe the argument that using frozen embryos for stem cell research is murder or that they could all be adopted by infertile couples. The practical fact is that they won't be and that many will be discarded, as many have been already.

The argument put forth by a lot of conservatives is that they are people. For me, it begs the question of what a soul is. If, at the instant on fertilization, a new soul pops into existence, perhaps the Catholic position makes sense, but it also raises a whole lot of religious metaphysical questions that get pretty thick:

If a soul comes into existence at fertilization, is it damned by reason of original sin unless and until it comes to full term and is born and baptized? On what basis?

If for some reason the embryo doesn't attach to the wall of the womb, or it attaches but is later miscarried, is it a death? Is it a murder by nature?

If death is defined as a separation of the spirit or soul from its body, what happens to all the little souls who are created by fertilization but never get implanted?

I believe that resurrection is the reuniting of the body and soul, but I'm not sure what other Christian religions think about this. A lot of theologians think that the material world is totally incompatible with God and Heaven. If getting to heaven means shedding this body, why is it so serious to commit murder? There seem to be some incongruencies here.