There are many facets to this debate, including the question as to when life begins. It can be either at the moment of conception or sometime later. The traditional Catholic Church viewpoint is that it begins at the moment of conception. If that is one's stand, then one must contend that an embryo represents human life and merits protection. People in favour of stem cell research will argue that life does not begin until some time later and this, therefore, allows the contention that research is good and should go ahead. Some people who seek to block this research argue that it destroys life. These statements on this complex and detailed issue are too short and simplistic. It is also too simplistic to arrive at a simple conclusion based on a small number of words.