Johnny Isakson: “The difference, with all due respect--and I have great respect for the Senator and the character and the quantity and…”

“The difference, with all due respect--and I have great respect for the Senator and the character and the quantity and the content of this debate--if you ultimately want to further embryonic stem cell research in the environment that we have, the Gardner principle division in in vitro fertilization for level 3 for the natural death of the embryo, that bridges the ethical question on the destruction of an embryo that was otherwise viable and would be something the White House would sign. So it would further embryonic stem cell research under a proven method which exists today, and NIH, in five different cases, is invested in terms of BG01, 02 and 03, which happen to be the lines with which I am familiar. With all due respect, since we both prohibit the fertilization of eggs for the purpose of deriving cells for scientific research, it is a matter of how you draw that line. I appreciate the Senator giving me the time to make that explanation.”