Saving lives versus taking lives; the public regards human embryo research in these stark terms, as a battleground of extremes, a war between science and ethics. Precisely that simplistic dichotomy, propagated by vociferous opponents of abortion and proponents of medical research, is what Jane Maienschein seeks to counter with this book. Whose View of Life? brings the current debates into sharper focus by examining developments in stem cell research, cloning, and embryology in historical and philosophical context and by exploring the legal, social and ethical issues at the heart of what has become a political controversy. Maienschein's multidisciplinary perspective will provide a starting point for further attempts to answer this dilemma.