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[flakfizer]

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flakfizer:

No, though I also saw the CSI episode to which you are referring.

I think that I first heard about it though a letter by a devout Christian named Doyle Doss addressed to President George W. Bush.

I can't find a site with the letter, but here's one with a similar essay by the same author.

When Life Is
an alternate scriptural approach to embryonic stem cells
by Doyle Doss

Here is the original letter. I know that it might violate the rules in that it's too long, but I'm hoping for people's understanding.

When Life Begins? . . .An Open Letter to the President
In memory of Christopher Reeve

Dear Mr. President,

Embryonic stem cell research is dependent on the question of when is there life, as well it should be, for no one wants to commit murder. So this question of when there is life is basic to a furtherance of embryonic stem cell research and its possible medical benefits to our ill and aging population. I ask you, Mr. President, and the greater Christian community, and those who believe the Bible to be the inspired unfailing Word of God to prayerfully and diligent seek the truth of these words: "The life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11).

I understand the Christian Faith to be based on blood:

The blood of Abel crying out from the ground and being heard by God is the first mention of blood in the Bible.
The first shedding of blood may have been by God when God provided skin coverings for Adam and Eve before their expulsion from the Garden.
God "passes over" the homes which have blood sprinkled on their doorposts and lintels in Egypt before the Exodus.
God teaches Moses the shedding, spilling, and sprinkling of blood as ritual sacrifices necessary for the atonement of sins and the purification of the priests and accessories for the tabernacle.
For thousands of years the Old Testament portion of the Bible chronicles countless blood sacrifices before and upon the altar of God in both the tabernacle and the Temple at Jerusalem.
And the prophets, speaking for God, gave many dire warnings of serious repercussions because of the shedding of innocent blood.

All this bloodshed, according to many Christian theologians, was necessary to "teach" the importance of shed blood for the remission of sins. This teaching culminating in the sacrifice of the Blood of Yeshua of Nazareth upon a cross, as so skillfully depicted by Mel Gibson in "The Passion of the Christ."

The idea of Christianity is, as I understand it, Mr. President, that by accepting the blood sacrifice of the Christ as a personal substitute for one뭩 own sinfulness, a person becomes reunited in their relationship with God and receives a new life based on this shed blood because, as the Bible teaches, "the life is in the blood" and "there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood." So you, Mr. President, and millions of others, are Christians because of the life that is in the blood. It would seem to follow, that if there is no blood then there is no life.

My point being, Mr. President, that there is no blood in an embryo until many days after conception, and if there is no blood, and "the life is in the blood," then it would seem to follow that until there is blood there is no life. If this is true, then a bloodless embryo could be made available for research without incurring the wrath of God because of the shedding of innocent blood, since no blood is shed.

Mr. President, please do not mistake my intent. I do not condone murder nor wish to create a permissive climate for murder. If "the life is in the blood," then an abortion of a fetus with blood is murder and a government by the people and for the people should have no active or supportive role in murder. But if "the life is in the blood," then the use of a bloodless embryo in research to give hope and perhaps eventually cures to debilitating illnesses should be encouraged and supported by the same government.

In my opinion we may not have one without the other. If this rationale is correct, that "the life is in the blood," and we permit embryonic stem cell research on bloodless embryos, we must also end government participation in abortions involving a fetus with blood, for that fetus, by this rationale, has life.

Thank you, Mr. President, for your personal and prayerful consideration of this matter.