Last night, my wife and I sat holding hands, glued to the tube for eleven minutes while President Bush did an amazing thing. Risking opposition from both sides, he did the unthinkable. (Well, I guess it would only be unthinkable if he were a Liberal Democrat President that was fond of orally sodomizing interns.) He didn't base a decision on a poll result, he didn't listen to any paid lobbyists, he didn't follow the line of what some consider his core constituency per se. He did what he thought was right. In what will probably be regarded as one of the biggest decisions of his administration, he made a call from the gut. And that's exactly what I wanted him to do. Some regular NPR listeners may laugh that he bungles a sentence here and there. Or that he hasn't really given the warm "I feel your pain" empathy to the people that our "First Black President" did. Or that he is worthy of a Comedy Central show mocking him. (More on that turd-fest later.) But, I'll tell you what. I would much rather have this kind of leadership than the previous one. I admire and respect Mr. Bush, not only for this decision but for the others he has made.

I have to admit some initial ignorance here. I recall a few months ago having a semi-private conversation in my office with a like-minded individual about abortion, partial-birth and other, etc. I don't recall the specifics, which is odd, but I do recall that almost out of nowhere, my ideological nemesis, chimes in with her typical Tourettes Syndrome style and burps out a sentence/thought fragment. It was something to the effect of, "What about it's benefits for stem cell research?!", and then she went away, much like a White Castle fart after you roll down the windows, swish, she was gone. I was curious. Why would the pro-choice camp care a whit about stem cell research? To me, the stemcell harvesting issue was always a "pro-life only" concern. Stem cell research has nothing to do with so-called "reproductive rights" or a woman's "right" to choose. Why would they care? Then it hit me. They don't really care whether or not Christopher Reeves ever walks or whether juvenile diabetes or Parkinson's or Alzheimers is cured. Sure, we all care about these things, but for them there is a different agenda. This issue had the potential to define when life begins and have that seed planted in the American conscience. It had the potential to define our society as either a culture or death or a culture of life. I am so happy he made the decision he made. He has planted the seed of change. A seed of life.
If you are searching yourself for the answer to the question "When does life begin?", please consider this. If these frozen embryos or clusters of stem cells were left unfrozen and uncared for, what would happen to them?
We both know the first thought in your head was "They'd die." So, what did that make them before they died?
Alive.