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When we think of the surgeon whose efforts have "saved" lives, Howard University Hospital chaplain, Reverend Boyer Freeman, would ask us to reconsider, and notice that the life has only been prolonged, not saved. Reverend Tesfamariam Baraki, the hospital's Catholic chaplain, concurs, saying, "empirical science only focuses on the cells, on the bones, on the genes. It only focuses on the material, physical part of the person, which is mortal. Science only prolongs mortality, prolongs life a little bit."

The debate over stem-cell research
The most hotly contested advanced in the sciences this year is the debate raging among politicians, theologians, abortion opponents, scientists, biotechnology executives, and patient advocacy groups over embryonic stem-cell research. President George W. Bush's decision to allow federal funding for research on some 60 existing stem-cell lines would indicate that, at the very least, science will continue looking for ways to push the limits of mortality. Experts believe embryonic stem-cell research could lead to cures for crippling spinal-cord injuries and diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and cancer, all of which have wreaked havoc on family trees for generations.

The debate over embryonic stem-cell research revolves, by and large, around the fact that on the one hand the embryo, which many consider to be sacred life, is destroyed in extracting the stem cells. On the other, proponents look to the medical value of the stem-cells, which are the basis for every type of cell in the body and might be capable of becoming nearly every type of tissue, allowing, say, a person with a heart condition to grow a new heart.

If President Bush were to assemble an advisory group from Howard, comprised of a leading transplant surgeon, a psychiatrist, a Catholic priest and a Muslim genethicist, what advice would he likely hear? "I think some stem cell research is reasonable, some isn't. Research that promotes healing of mankind is good, that which promotes creating mankind is dangerous," said Dr. Callender. "If you have embryos, what's wrong with studying them? If they're there, I don't understand why you couldn't use them for research."