Was there any answer not tied to religion?
He typed in the website of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government’s leading biomedical research organization. On the search page, he typed “stem cell research.” A section of the website popped up labeled: “Adult Stem Cell Information.”
Trent clicked on a list of FAQs: “How are adult stem cells different from embryonic stem cells?”
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found in specialized tissues such as heart or muscle tissue. Adult stem cells can give rise to the type of specialized cell found in the tissue of origin and may or may not be able to give rise to other cell types. Embryonic stem cells are found in five-day-old human embryos, and can give rise to any cell in the body.
So far, so good. Trent clicked on the next question in the list: “Why is adult stem cell research preferable to embryonic stem cell research?” The answer was one he knew well:
Adult stem cells are cultivated from the developed tissue of already-born humans, so they do not involve compromising a life. They have been used for decades for procedures like bone marrow transplants and are being widely researched to find the potential life-saving gains associated with illegal embryonic stem cells.
He stared uncomfortably at the screen, realizing that the question was loaded.
On the sidebar of the web page, he noticed a tab that read “Archives.” On a hunch, he clicked and navigated more than twenty-five years back to the year 2000. Then in the search bar, he typed “embryonic stem cells.”
A list of old news announcements appeared: “First Symposium on Embryonic Stem Cells Calls Human Life-Saving Potential Unprecedented.” Beneath that headline, there was another: “National Institutes of Health Answer: What would you hope to achieve from embryonic stem cell research?” A seventeen-page-long answer followed, outlining the specific hopes of each institute: Heart, Lung, and Blood; Dental and Craniofacial Research; Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Child Health; Eye; Aging; Arthritis and Skin Diseases; Deafness; Mental Health; and Human Genome Research.
Trent stared in awe at the broad array of hope for every part of the body, wondering why he had never researched the topic before, why he had never questioned it.
Because even though religion allows you to ask questions, he thought, you’re not supposed to question its answers.
He changed the year in the archive to 2001, the first year that legislation against embryonic stem cell research began. More news announcements popped up, but the change in rhetoric was stark: “Congress Limits Embryonic Stem Cell Research to 64 Existing Lines,” and “President Calls on NIH to Issue Grants Only for Adult Stem Cell Research.”
With a sinking feeling, Trent changed the year in the archives to 2012.
“Supreme Court Bans Embryonic Stem Cell Research,” read the news announcement. Trent remembered the decision well: it had sparked a giddy patriotism in his community—bumper stickers, flags, Republican campaign donations. The next announcement read: “Federal Government Allocates Funds for a Department of Embryo Preservation in Each State to Monitor Existing Embryos.” He slammed his laptop shut and threw it to the foot of the bed.
But how could he pretend that a cluster of cells meant more than her life? He again pictured what would surely be her shell-shocked expression—and the terror of impending mortality in her eyes—and thought: There is no way I could live with myself. I would rather go to jail than send her there to die. So that makes me a killer of innocents. I am a killer.
He struggled to believe the words. Embryos were dying as he stood by, at this very moment. Shame overwhelmed him, even as he knew his decision was final. The swiftness of his descent into immorality was staggering, and it frightened him. How could he, a person who had once been so consumed by a desire to do good that it had landed him at the DEP—how could he have sunk to the most depraved rung of all?
But she stood there proudly. To live with herself, she had to be either inconceivably evil, or have a good reason for her peace of mind.
Trent jumped off the bed and rushed to the door, propelled by the turbine force of a single thought: I have to know her reason.
As he opened the door, he glanced down at his watch. It clung to his wrist like a barnacled spy, filled with incriminating evidence. He unhooked the leather strap and flung it against the wall.
* * *
“Trent!” Arianna exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
She opened the door, motioning for him to step inside. He did not answer, but walked into the foyer and kissed her hard on the lips, those lips that he no longer had to fight, even if it damned him.
She laughed a little bit before gently pushing him away. “What’s going on?”
“I can deal with being a criminal,” he said, “but I have to know if that’s how it really is.”
“A criminal?” She frowned and led him to the couch in her living room. He sank wearily beside her.
“I’m no threat,” he reassured her. “I could never rat you out. But this is what I can’t reconcile: When does human life begin? The only answer I’ve ever heard is that life begins at conception. So does that mean killing embryos is killing a life? How do you live with yourself? And how can I?”
Arianna looked thoughtful but unworried. “I thought you might have absorbed that notion, but you never said anything at the museum, so I assumed it didn’t bother you.”
“All I know for sure is that no matter how much I should, I can’t care more about an embryo than about you. But I hate to think that makes me a criminal!”
She took both his hands. “Neither of us are criminals—far from it. The problem is that you’re asking the wrong question.”
“I am?”
“Yes. This was a question posed by the Ancient Greeks: When does a potential human being
