A pro-life advocate is incensed that Proposition 71 is now the law.

Human embryonic stem cell research is always immoral and unethical, said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League in Stafford, Va.

"With the passage of this deadly initiative, California is poised to become the world's largest killing place," Brown said. "We urge all Californians who respect the dignity of every human being's life to speak out against and begin immediate steps to overturn this measure, which endorses the wholesale killing of the youngest members of the human family."

Actress and activist Dana Reeve, who lost her husband, actor Christopher Reeve, (pictured) to complications from spinal cord injury recently, disagrees. She believes embryonic stem cell research offers hope for ameliorating the problems of people with SCI and other debilitating diseases. Soon after her bereavement, Ms. Reeve joined Kerry on the campaign trail to accentuate his support for ESC research.

Reeve's widow, Dana, said her family has been grieving privately since her husband died Oct. 10. "My inclination would be to remain private for a good long while," she said. "But I came here today in support of John Kerry because this is so important. This is what Chris wanted."

Reeve had lived as a paraplegic since a riding accident in 1995. He had become an advocate for medical research and believed studying embryonic stem cells might unlock lifesaving cures and treatments, Dana Reeve said.

"His heart was full of hope, and he imagined living in a world where politics would never get in the way of hope," she said.

The passage of the pro-ESC measure in California has implications beyond science. The approval of research on embryonic stem cells casts the issue of what it means to be pro-life in new terms. The Right, as exemplified by Bush, believes the 'lives' in need of protection are those of embryos. The more moderate, including some Republicans, are expanding the meaning of being pro-life to include saving or improving the lives of those afflicted by incurable diseases and injuries. With the anti-abortion movement likely to try to extend its triumph in the election to include new restrictions on abortion, the expansion of what people think about when they hear the term 'pro-life' could be significant. It opens the door to a more intelligent and nuanced discussion of quality of life as a component of being pro-life.

Reasonably related

Learn more about stem cells at PBS.

Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.