Stand up for bastards!

Exhibit A

And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
[King Lear, Act I, Scene II]

Exhibit B

The President's Council on Bioethics,Washington, D.C., January 2004
Chapter 2: Current Federal Law and Policy

The Ethics Advisory Board concluded that research involving embryos and IVF techniques was “ethically defensible but still legitimately controverted.” Provided that research did not take place on embryos beyond fourteen days of development and that all gamete donors were married couples, the Board argued, such work was “acceptable from an ethical standpoint,” but the Board decided that it “should not advise the Department on the level of Federal support, if any,” such work should receive.

Exhibit C

Evil Bastard's Rationalization Guild