Presidential debates: questions

[Anonymous]

Quote:

" Kerry responds, like every good Democrat must, by mentioning the Afflicted Famous People who are Close Personal Friends of his. And besides, he adds, these embryos "weren't taken from abortion or something like that."

To the surprise of nearly all concerned, Bush is thoughtful, and very nearly eloquent in response: "To destroy life to save life is one of the real ethical dilemmas that we face." He explains how he split the difference on embryonic stem cells using lines already in existence. "

Could you explain to me what this sentence ["He explains how he split the difference on embryonic stem cells using lines already in existence" ]means?

Thanks in advance :D

[Casiopea]

Quote:

" Kerry responds, like every good Democrat must, by mentioning the Afflicted Famous People who are Close Personal Friends of his. And besides, he adds, these embryos "weren't taken from abortion or something like that."

To the surprise of nearly all concerned, Bush is thoughtful, and very nearly eloquent in response: "To destroy life to save life is one of the real ethical dilemmas that we face." He explains how he split the difference on embryonic stem cells using lines already in existence. "

Could you explain to me what this sentence ["He explains how he split the difference on embryonic stem cells using lines already in existence" ]means?

Thanks in advance :D

Stem cells can be extracted from very early human embryos, but their use in research is controversial because the extraction procedure kills the embryo (i.e., To destroy a life to save life is one of the real ethical dilemmas that we face). Because of that, President Bush in 2001 restricted federal research funding to experiments involving only the 78 cell lines already in existence at the time.

Bush deals with the ethical dilemma (i.e., "splits the difference") by saying that it's not OK to extract new cells (i.e., destroy a life to save life), but that it's OK to use previously extracted cells.

All the best, :D