Stem cells in breast milk? Trading one ethical dilemma for another

Well, I'd say if they really are the embryonic-like cells, it'll just be trading one ethical dilemma for another. One reason why the Special Report: "Contemporary Ethical Issues in Human Milk Banking in the United States" is so timely!

Breast-milk stem cells may bypass ethical dilemmas - health - 14 November 2011 - New Scientist: Breast-milk stem cells may bypass ethical dilemmas

14:30 14 November 2011 by Linda Geddes
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Embryonic-like stem cells have been isolated from breast milk in large numbers. The discovery raises the possibility of sourcing stem cells for regenerative medicine, without the need to destroy embryos.

Peter Hartmann at the University of Western Australia in Crawley and his colleagues first announced the discovery of stem cells in breast milk in 2008. Now they have grown them in the lab and shown that they can turn into cells representative of all three embryonic germ layers, called the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm – a defining property of embryonic stem cells (ESC).