The moral issue here is whether the United States Congress is going to stand in the way of science and preclude scientists from doing lifesaving research.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
There's no question that as science, knowledge and technology advance, that we will attempt to do more significant things. And there's no question that we will always have to temper those things with ethics.
There are a few dogmas and double standards and really regrettable exports from philosophy that have confounded the thinking of scientists on the subject of morality.
Science by itself has no moral dimension. But it does seek to establish truth. And upon this truth morality can be built.
Researchers should always consider ethical concerns on scientific research and disclose their data to the public. Scientists also need to discuss issues surrounding their research with those who are concerned.
My personal conviction is that science is concerned wholly with truth, not with ethics.
Ethics is not routinely taught to science students except in medicine, and I think it should be.
We are here simply to decide whether Congress should take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund the destruction of human embryos for research.
While that amendment failed, human cloning continues to advance and the breakthrough in this unethical and morally questionable science is around the corner.
Though neglectful of their responsibility to protect science, scientists are increasingly aware of their responsibility to society.
At the end of the day, if there are truly ethical considerations, those have to override scientific considerations.