Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
U.N diplomats abandoned efforts to draft a treaty that would outlaw human cloning. They will likely settle for a weaker statement, and won't seek a widespread ban, officials said. The debate began when Italy introduced document into the U.N to stop any attempt at cloning human life. The Belgians objected to the use of term "human life" in the document, because they feared it would put a stop to all forms of human cloning.
There is near universal support among the United Nation's 191 members for a ban on reproductive cloning-creating cloned babies. Many countries have wrested over whether to allow cloning for stem cell and other types of research. Indeed, many researchers beleive that stem cells could be used to repair nerve tissue or cure diseases, including Alzheimer's. Stem cells are taken from embryos and cloned, but extracting these cells kills the embryo. Opponents say that this is equal to murder.
Question: The word “extracting” in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.
