Adult stem cells can be harvested without causing harm or loss of life. Provided proper consent is obtained and the stem cells are used for the purpose of developing treatments there is no ethical problem about the use of adult stem cells and funding should be directed to this area of research. The harvesting of stem cells from embryos always results in the destruction of the embryo. If it were only a haphazard cluster of cells, there would be no problem, but an embryo, although it is small and cannot smile yet, is a distinct individual human being in the process of rapid organised development.