Richard Dawkins Quotes

Embryonic stem-cell research requires the destruction of life to create a stem cell. That's why I think we've got to be very careful in balancing the ethics and the science.

Stem cell research has become such a polarizing issue in America... and I wanted to bring it down to the personal level, instead of the political.

I do think it is very important that the religious communities do try to bring their teachings and their insights to bear on the stem cell debate and on the debate about genetic engineering.

Polls consistently show that the majority of Americans favour research using embryonic stem cells and yet politicians continue to pander to the outspoken religious minority that is hampering efforts to develop this potentially valuable technology.

I'm a supporter of embryonic stem cell research. I do think there are very important moral and also religious questions at stake in the debate over embryonic stem cell research.

I urge researchers to make use of the opportunities that are available to them and to do all they can to fulfill the promise that stem cell research offers.

We have a responsibility to promote stem cell research which could lead to treatments and cures for diseases affecting millions of Americans.

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to alleviate so much suffering. Surely, by working together we can harness its life-giving potential.

The choice is not between conducting the stem cell research or not conducting it. That is not the choice.

Science has provided us with an alternative called stem cell research …. We’ve lost so much time already and I really can’t bear to wait anymore.

I am in favor of stem-cell research. I am not in favor of creating new human embryos through cloning.

Embryonic stem cell research is at the leading edge of a series of moral hazards.

I am pro-life, I believe human life begins at conception. I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported.

Stem cells are probably going to be extremely useful. But it isn't a given, and even if it were, I don't think the end justifies the means. I am not against stem cells, I think it's great. Blanket objection is not very reasonable to me-any effort to control scientific advances is doomed to fail. You cannot stop the human mind from working.

Many good Christians are confused about complex social issues of our day, such as doctor-assisted death or medical research which uses stem cells from human embryos. They wonder, 'Why shouldn't science use discarded fetuses for research?' And if someone finds his medical condition intolerable and hopeless, 'why shouldn't he have the legal right to end his life?' Although the Bible does not address these issues in particular, it does provide guiding insights.

I would like people to understand the rationale for my embryonic stem cell research decision and how the process became distorted over time.

The best that can be said about embryonic stem cell research is that it is scientific exploration into the potential benefits of killing human beings.

But I think it is also important that we pay tribute and acknowledge another great principle, and that is the principle of religious conviction. Religious freedom has no significance unless it is accompanied by conviction.

Genetic engineering is a result of science advancement, so I don't think that in itself is bad.

I do not argue that nature is sacrosanct in the sense that we must never tamper with nature. That would disempower, really, all of medicine. That would mean that we can't combat dread diseases - malaria, polio, all of which are given by nature, if one thinks about it.

The traditional view of the sanctity of human life will collapse under pressure from scientific, technological and demographic developments.

What intrigued me most was not the technology as such but the questions about the human goods, the fundamental human values and virtues that are raised by debates over biotechnology.

Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. THAT is cyberpunk.

The ethical debates are like stones in a stream. The water runs around them. You haven't seen any biological technologies held up for one week by any of these debates.

I think I understand that religious faith which makes the holy brave and strong; my strength is just somewhere else--it's in myself...I do not fear what may await me, though I'm equally confident that nothing awaits.