• Editor’s note: This is a column written by Brian Hoovler and Bryce Kish, two seniors at Millennium High School who write for the Tracy Press. For this column, they take opposing sides of an issue for the sake of argument.

Brian Hoovler: Harvesting stem cells from aborted fetuses is wrong.

Bryce Kish: Well, if it is wrong to harvest stem cells from aborted fetuses, is it so wrong to harvest them from cloned fetuses?

BH: The question in that case, Bryce, is whether it's unethical to clone a human being.

BK: Is it?

BH: Yes, Bryce, it is.

BK: OK. Maybe you feel that way about clones becoming actual humans and integrating into our society, but surely you don’t object to clones created purely for the purpose of harvesting stem cells, do you?

BH: And what? Turn what was once a human cell into a stem cell factory?

BK: So you’re saying you wouldn’t give up a few of your skin cells to cure Parkinson’s disease?

BH: Yes, I would give up some of my skin cells, but skin cells and embryos are two different things, Bryce.

BK: Look, you don’t like harvesting stem cells from unborn fetuses because it’s like taking a potential life, right?

BH: Right.

BK: Well, it’s not really the same in cloning. See what they do is they take an egg cell, they put a human skin cell in it and then it becomes an embryo. But because we’re not really sure if it can grow up to create life yet, it’s only supposed, it’s not really like taking a life, it’s just like making stem cells.

BH: Look, all I’m saying is that it’s not right to kill a fetus to get the stem cells, OK? If you want to get them from some other place, say the umbilical cord, fine by me.