The Great Debate Lyrics


"A Gallup snapshot poll taken immediately after President Bush's

speech on funding embryonic stem cell research last night shows that

half of Americans approve of his decision, 25% do not, and still another

25% aren't sure what to think."

"Most people don't even know what stem cells are."

"Who is going to scream the loudest? Will it be the right-to-lifers

or will it be the scientists? And now what's going to happen is that

there will be a tremendous amount of lobbying in Washington, D.C.:

scientists, entertainers, people who want to see this research -

will be coming forth."

"I am concerned about it. Christopher Reeve is concerned about it.

Everyone is concerned about it. The big question is do the ends justify

the means? When we talk about research, yes, we can cure a lot of things

speculatively. But, where is the proof?"

"These developing human beings that you are talking about,

these embryos were produced in an artificial, scientific environment.

In vitro fertilization is not God's will."

"That doesn't make them any less human, though, after that happens."

"We are on a road where we really don't know where

we are going as far as what's next. We are talking about

harvesting embryos. We are talking about this, we are talking

about that, but what is the cost?"

"How could we possibly abandon the research?"

"That is right, hat is the old question. If you think the

research is good, then you may not have a problem with it.

It is only if you think the research is questionable

that you get defensive about it.

"You do have time to research these embryos later if we

choose to do so. While people are suffering, we are not

truly certain that this will provide a cure."

"And there was a great outrage

in the conservative churches. You cannot

use developing humans, at that point

in time they turn into humans."

"I feel that abandoning this research could be a mistake.

Researching this may allow us to save other lives or at

least to improve the quality of lives."

"We do not have the answers, yet.

We need to put the money where we will

get those answers in the future.

Listen, we are out of time."

What if someone said

promise lies ahead?

Hopes are high in certain

scientific circles.

Life won't have to end,

you could walk again.

What if someone said

problems lie ahead?

They've uncovered something

highly controversial.

The right to life is strong,

can't you see it's wrong?

Humankind has

reached a turning point

poised for conflict at

Ground Zero.

Ready for a war!

Do we look to our

unearthly guide or to

white coat heroes,

searching for a cure?

Turn to the light,

don't be frightened of

the shadows it creates.

Turn to the light!

Turning away would be

a terrible mistake.

Anarchistic moral vision,

industries of death,

facing violent opposition,

unmolested breath.

Ethic inquisitions breed

antagonistic views, right wing

sound bite premonitions

in a labyrinth of rules.

Are you justified?

Are you justified?

Are you justified?

Justified in taking

life to save life,

life to save life?

Life to save life!

This embryonic clay

wrapped in fierce debates,

would be thrown away

or otherwise discarded.

Some of us believe

it may hold the key

to treatment of disease,

and secrets highly guarded.

Are you justified?

Are you justified?

Are you justified?

Justified in taking

life to save life,

life to save life?

Life to save life!

Humankind has

reached a turning point

poised for conflict at

Ground Zero.

Ready for a war!

Do we look to our

unearthly guide or to

white coat heroes,

searching for a cure?

Turn to the light,

don't be frightened of

the shadows it creates.

Turn to the light!

Turning away would be

a terrible mistake.

We're reaching but

have we gone too far?

Harvesting existence

only to destroy,

carelessly together

we are sliding.

Someone else's future

four days frozen still,

someone else's fate

we are deciding.

Miracle potential,

sanctity of life!

Faced against each other,

we're divided.

Should we push the boundaries

or should we condemn?

Moral guilt and science

have collided.

Turn to the light,

we defy our own mortality

these days.

Turn to the light,

pay attention to the

questions we have raised.

"One of the big questions that still remains for me, though,

is that all of these embryos that are sent or will be discarded,

is this worse than just throwing those away?"

"You do not know that all of these will be discarded.

All of a sudden you say which ones will be discarded.

And all of sudden you have people being solicited for

parts of their anatomy. Then they harvest parts of

people's bodies. That is how it starts."

"People are not soliciting; there are fertility

clinics that have extra embryos."

"The research is a scientific advancement. I know we are going

down a road that we may not know where we end, but that is exactly

what science is all about. I am very sorry, but I do feel sympathy

for those whose spines have been severed. There is a possibility that

we might cure them. I am concerned about a cure for juvenile diabetes

and if these types of scientific advancement can cure these diseases,

then quite candidly I think there ought to be at least what President Bush

has proposed: some limited research."

"Stem cells come from developing human beings and they shouldn't

be experimented on that doesn't make sense or that is unethical,

but at the same time there is great promise."

"I have a 28-year old son who is paraplegic. And if there is a small chance

that my son can be able to have feeling and be able to walk then I am for it."

"Human beings have been evolving for tens of thousands

of years and we are just injecting cells from embryos into

people's brains. How do we come to do something like that?"