William H. Frist: “since 2001 when stem cell research first captured our Nation's attention, I have said many times the issue will have to…”

“since 2001 when stem cell research first captured our Nation's attention, I have said many times the issue will have to be reviewed on an ongoing basis--and not just because the science holds tremendous promise, or because it is developing with breathtaking speed. Indeed, stem cell research presents the first major moral and ethical challenge to biomedical research in the 21st century. In this age of unprecedented discovery, challenges that arise from the nexus of advancing science and ethical considerations will come with increasing frequency. How can they not? Every day we unlock more of the mysteries of human life and more ways to promote and enhance our health. This compels profound questions--moral questions that we understandably struggle with both as individuals and as a body politic. How we answer these questions today--and whether, in the end, we get them right--impacts the promise not only of current research, but of future research, as well. It will define us as a civilized and ethical society forever in the eyes of history. We are, after all, laying the foundation of an age in human history that will touch our individual lives far more intimately than the Information Age and even the Industrial Age before it. Answering fundamental questions about human life is seldom easy.…”