Abstract
As policy debates over public funding of embryonic stem cell research have unfolded over the past year or so, I have found myself increasingly uncomfortable. Uncomfortable partly because the editorial pages of Science imply that the mainstream scientific community unanimously supports government funding of embryonic stem cell research and assumes ethical issues can be resolved along the way. Uncomfortable partly because I am convinced that from the moment of fertilization, a developing fetus should not be treated as simply a resource for enhancing the health of people who are further along in their development. Uncomfortable partly because I am a physicist, not a biologist, and am not sure I fully understand the scientific issues. And, finally, uncomfortable because I am not certain what to do with my discomfort beyond e-mailing comments to the National Institute of Health regarding their proposed ethical guidelines. What is a postdoc in applied physics to do about attitudes in the scientific community or federal policymaking in areas outside of her field?