Galley Friend R.D. sends along a link to a new letter just released by The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics.

The mechanics of how stem-research became a mini-major issue in this campaign is pretty interesting. Few people understand what it is and fewer understand the difference between adult and embryonic stem-cell research. So why have stem cells become such a hot-button? Because they're code for "religion."

My colleague Terry Eastland contends that the 2004 election has turned in large part around questions of faith and the role of religion in public life. Stem-cell research has become part of that dialectic. It's no longer really about the science of the issue (which seems to hold pretty clearly that adult stem cells are promising and embryonic stem cells are less so): it's a clash between secular and faith-based world views.