Stem Cell Research | What You Need to Know
The Catholic Church opposes embryonic stem-cell research because it destroys human life. Nonetheless, the promise of stem cells for curing serious disease creates great pressure to harvest these cells.
It pays dividends to begin with the basics. What are stem cells? What potential do they have, and why? What are embryos, and what moral demands do they make upon us?
Next, we need a critical awareness of the great medical success already achieved using
adult stem cells, which hurts nobody, as compared with the serious lack of success using
embryonic stem cells. Many expert articles in
First Things magazine have explored this topic.
Finally, it is important to understand the position of the Catholic Church on embryonic stem cell research. For this, we turn to a statement released in 2000 by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Essential Perspective
- A Primer on Stem Cells
- Continuing Discussion and Analysis of the Use of Adult and Embryonic Stem Cells
- Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
