Stem Cell Research: Moral Compass or Moralistic Yo-Yo?

Reuters reports that differences over stem cell research is creating problems for the GOP in two Senate races. A possible referendum on the subject in Missouri could lead to difficulties for Senator Jim Talent. In Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele made a comment that suggests a doctrinaire attitude on the issue:

In Maryland, Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is running for the open seat of retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes, apologized for remarks before Jewish leaders in Baltimore that seemed to compare stem-cell research to the Holocaust.
"You, of all folks, know what happens when people decide to experiment on human beings," Steele said.
He later expressed conditional support for embryonic stem-cell research but said it should be guided by "a moral compass."

The trouble for Steele is that people understand the difference between a moral compass and a moralistic yo-yo.