Presidential hopeful Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) was interviewed last week by Katie Couric of CBS News, and the following exchange occurred, in which Romney advocated his support for embryonic stem cell research.  I was very disappointed to hear that, because Romney listed his opposition to the embryonic stem cell issue as the reason he converted back to being a pro-life candidate (he ran as a pro-abortion candidate in Massachusetts).

Couric: So are you opposed to stem cell research?

Romney: No, I’m very much in favor of stem cell research, but in a way which I believe is moral and ethical. And creating new embryos through embryo farming or through cloning, I find to be unethical and I would not pursue that course of stem cell research.

Couric: So what kind of embryos – embryos that are created for procreation and then would be discarded? Are those the ones that you feel are perfectly fine from which to cull cells for stem cell research?

Romney: Yes, those embryos that are referred to commonly as surplus embryos from in-vitro fertilization. Those embryos, I hope, could be available for adoption for people who would like to adopt embryos. But if a parent decides they would want to donate one of those embryos for purposes of research, in my view, that’s acceptable.

Alright, so let’s get this straight… According to Romney, it’s not “moral and ethical” to create living embryos to be destroyed for the sake of research, but it is “moral and ethical” for parents to give permission for their living embryos to be destroyed for the sake of research.

This is not a viable pro-life position.  A person either believe all life is valuable, or doesn’t.  By his own statements, Romney doesn’t.