Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen

Saying they put forth a scientific and philosophical argument, not a religious one, the authors maintain that the fetus, from the moment of conception, is a human being, and therefore due moral and political rights. As a result, they argue, society should not condone or publicly fund embryonic stem-cell research. George is a professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program at Princeton. Tollefsen is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina.