Lock-step Presidential Candidates

On the topic of embryonic stem-cell research, all of the Pro-Life candidates cite one reason for being against it. They claim it is the taking of human life. There are many reasons why a fiscally conservative Republican would not vote to use tax dollars to fund such research yet only "the taking of human life" is claimed as their excuse. Is this a well thought out reason or are they just pandering for votes or in lock-step with a Party agenda? Whether you are for or against abortion later in pregnancy this embryonic stage in a petri dish should make you think a bit before you decide about the intellecual thought these candidates use to make decisions or about their honesty with voters. Romney for example, claims he changed his position on abortion after he witnessed racks of petri dishes in a laboratory. Prior to that he must have considered himself a compassionate conservative as he tells the story of being Pro-choice because of a family member who died because legal abortion was not available in her time of crisis. No one actually knows when life begins. Surely, if you are of the belief that there is a divine creator, given the very complex design of all life, then the fallopian tube, which cannot sustain the life of an embryo would not be the point at which God would begin "life". When a sperm and ova unite in the fallopian tube, cell division begins. The zygote will divide and is supposed to migrate to the womb. By design, a blastomere of a few cells is not life sustaining at this point. And if it does not migrate to the womb, the mother would die unless this embryo is taken surgically - a medical practice that no one , not even the pro-life groups, object to. Therein lies the argument that these candidates are in lock-step with an excuse for the explicit purpose of pandering for votes and Party approval. The potential for development into a life, even after migration to the womb, by design will result in miscarriages, an act of god some would say, especially when that embryo is developing abnormally. After a baby takes its first breath we can clearly define when life actually begins. Before that point in time we just do not have an answer. Somewhere in the first trimester has been a medically accepted opinion by some Republican Clubs. For example, the California Republican Party had a statement on their website in 2006, under the former chairman, that in the case of rape, if the woman reported the incident to the police within a short time then abortion should be allowed. An apparent attempt at compassionate conservatism however given the fact that rape is rarely reported because the woman is either shamed or further victimized with some level of blame for the incident, this too was not a well thought out position. As a life-long Republican, I expect more of our leadership.