Reaction To President Bush's Decision On Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
The "trade-off" President Bush announced regarding embryonic stem-cell research "is morally unacceptable. The federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others," Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, Texas, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Aug. 10. In an address to the nation Aug. 9, Bush announced he would approve federal funding of research on "more than 60 genetically diverse stem-cell lines" that already exist and that "were created from embryos that have already been destroyed." Bush said these lines "have the ability to regenerate themselves indefinitely." (The text of Bush's speech appears in this week's Origins on Page 213.) Fiorenza said that Bush made comments on human cloning and other policies "that deserve support in their own right." However, Fiorenza said, "we hope and pray that President Bush will return to a principled stand against treating some human lives as nothing more than objects to be manipulated and destroyed for research purposes." Fiorenza's statement follows.
President Bush has reaffirmed his support for a ban on human cloning and other policies that deserve support in their own right. However, the trade-off he has announced is morally unacceptable: The federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others. However such a decision is hedged about with qualifications, it allows our nation's research enterprise to cultivate a disrespect for human life.
Researchers who want to pursue destructive embryo research and their allies in Congress have already rejected such limits, saying that these limits will interfere with efforts to turn embryonic stem-cell research into possible medical treatments. The president's policy may therefore prove to be as unworkable as it is morally wrong, ultimately serving only those whose goal is unlimited embryo research.
We hope and pray that President Bush will return to a principled stand against treating some human lives as nothing more than objects to be manipulated and destroyed for research purposes. As we face a new century of powerful and sometimes even frightening advances in biotechnology, we must help ensure that our technical advances will serve rather than demean our very humanity.
Cardinal Keeler
One can be grateful that in his address Aug. 9 regarding embryonic stem-cell research, President Bush "pointed to the basic moral problem, the actual creation of new human life each time a human embryo comes into being and the respect that is owed to this life. With sadness we note that his solution will continue to present its own moral problems," Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore said in a statement Aug. 13. Keeler is chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. He said, "The existing stem-cell lines to be used for federally financed research have themselves come from deliberately destroyed embryos, and the researchers who destroyed them will profit from the new federal policy." Keeler's statement follows.
Last Thursday evening President George W. Bush spoke to the nation about his decision on the morally significant and politically complex issue of the use of embryonic stem cells for scientific research.
To the president's credit, he offered a more comprehensive moral perspective on this vital human life issue than usually presents itself in the context of the scientific debate. So much of what we have seen in the press and heard through the other media has come to us in emotional terms, usually exaggerating scientific claims — to date there is no therapeutic benefit achieved through embryonic stem-cell research, only talk about potential. At the same time, practically ignored is the progress already achieved, including documented cures, through research using adult stem cells. Research on these and other non-embryonic stem cells was strongly supported in the president's remarks, and for this we should all be grateful.
We can also be grateful that the president pointed to the basic moral problem, the actual creation of new human life each time a human embryo comes into being and the respect that is owed to this life. With sadness we note that his solution will continue to present its own moral problems: The existing stem-cell lines to be used for federally financed research have themselves come from deliberately destroyed embryos, and the researchers who destroyed them will profit from the new federal policy.
The appointment of a presidential council to monitor and to review further aspects of stem-cell research offers, but by no means guarantees, the hope that there will be an ongoing evaluation of what happens in the field. This should proceed in accord with the moral principle that human life, any human life, is precious, and not to be destroyed for the sake of others. An approach based on the theory that the ends justify the means must be rejected.
As I noted at a press conference last Thursday evening, no matter what decision the president made, the issue of embryonic stem-cell research would remain on the world agenda because so many elements in our culture have lost a sense of the law built into nature by the Creator. Our task as people of faith is to remind all that reason and objective facts should not be set aside because of emotional argumentation built on isolated personal situations, however painful. We must love one another, protecting the most vulnerable, both young and old, to build a renewed culture of life.
Archbishop Rigali
President Bush "has clearly acknowledged human life as a gift from our Creator and has proclaimed his own obligation as president to foster and encourage respect for life. All this has helped to elevate the consciousness of the American public to what is at stake," Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis said in a statement Aug. 13. "We are very grateful" to the president for acknowledging, "that research on embryonic stem cells raises profound ethical questions," Rigali said. However, he commented, "while excluding federal funds at this time for research that would involve the further destruction of human embryos, the president's position is not without moral difficulties." Rigali said, "We are convinced that the creation and destruction of human embryos for scientific research cannot be facilitated or favored in any way without threatening the whole cause of other human life and dignity." Rigali's statement follows.
In speaking to the nation, President Bush has enunciated a number of principles of great importance, and we are very grateful to him for this.
He has acknowledged that research on embryonic stem cells raises profound ethical questions.
Each embryo, he has said, is unique, with the unique genetic potential of an individual human being. He has stated that it is deeply troubling that scientists have created human embryos in test tubes solely to experiment on them. He has strongly opposed human cloning.
He has rightly stated that, while we must devote enormous energy to conquering disease, we cannot ignore the moral concerns involved. He has said unequivocally, "Even the most noble ends do not justify any means."
He has clearly acknowledged human life as a gift from our Creator and has proclaimed his own obligation as president to foster and encourage respect for life. All this has helped to elevate the consciousness of the American public to what is at stake.
The president has moreover stated his support — which we enthusiastically share — for aggressive federal funding of research on stem cells recovered from the umbilical cord and placenta as well as all adult stem cells. This research has already yielded, the president tells us, beneficial results for many patients suffering from a range of diseases, without the moral implications involved in research on embryonic stem cells.
The president has deliberately excluded federal funds for the future destruction of embryos for purposes of research, and this is a splendid decision.
He has, however, granted federal funds for research on existing stem-cell lines, "where the life and death decision has already been made." While excluding federal funds at this time for research that would involve the further destruction of human embryos, the president's position is not without moral difficulties. We must remember that the existing stem-cell lines have been obtained by the deliberate destruction of human embryos. These embryos, which are human beings, were destroyed for the sake of research. The offer of federal funds for this research on these existing stem cells has already been declared "insufficient" by some and has opened the door for the destruction of other now-living embryos for the purpose of future research on cells that will be obtained from embryos that in the future will be "already dead."
We are convinced that the creation and destruction of human embryos for scientific research cannot be facilitated or favored in any way without threatening the whole cause of other human life and dignity.
Our hope rather is that aggressive research to benefit human beings in need can be promoted in the area of adult stem cells and stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord and placenta. We believe that this is the direction in which enormous energy for conquering disease is to be invested. We look forward to the true advance of technology that will eventually help many suffering people without any complicity in the destruction of human embryos.
Bishop D'Arcy
"The door has been opened to greater abuses in the future, and it may never be closed," Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said in a statement the day after President Bush's Aug. 9 address to the nation regarding federal funding of some embryonic stem-cell research. D'Arcy said, "I am relieved that the president has refused to place our government on the side of research that would destroy human lives and has clearly voiced his opposition to human cloning. At the same time, the research that he has approved is rooted in and cultivates disrespect for human life." D'Arcy's statement follows.
I question and am seriously concerned about the decision of President Bush to fund the use of stem-cell lines that have already been cultivated from previously destroyed embryos. The danger here is that this will further legitimize the destruction of human life for the potential benefit of others. The door has been opened to greater abuses in the future, and it may never be closed. I am in full agreement with the statement of the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza: "The trade-off [the president] has announced is morally unacceptable: The federal government for the first time in history will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others." In ethical terms, our government will be materially cooperating with this immoral activity. It must be remembered that this research has been made possible by the destruction of human life. The federal government is cooperating in and utilizing this act of destruction.
I am relieved that the president has refused to place our government on the side of research that would destroy human lives and has clearly voiced his opposition to human cloning. At the same time, the research that he has approved is rooted in and cultivates disrespect for human life.
The Catholic Church continues to hold the same conviction that has lighted our way for 2,000 years about the sanctity of human life in all its stages. We continue to hold that we may not manipulate human life and that a good end does not justify an immoral means. We support and encourage all legitimate research for the easing of human suffering such as adult stem-cell research, which has up to now shown even more promise than embryonic stem-cell research.
I pray that our advances in biotechnology may serve rather than demean our humanity.
Cardinal Law
"The president has elevated the public debate on this issue . . . While I applaud him for setting limits, the line which he has drawn is going to be very difficult to maintain," Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston said in an Aug. 10 statement. He said, "It is because maintaining his position will be so difficult in today's cultural climate that I regret the president's decision to allow federal funding for experimentation on existing embryonic stem-cell lines." Law's statement follows.
Critical to a moral judgment concerning embryonic stem-cell research is the fact that the embryo is a human being. Each one of us began life in the embryonic state. Creation and destruction of embryos for the sake of scientific research, no matter how promising that research may be, cannot be tolerated. We cannot kill in the name of science.
President Bush agrees with this fundamental moral truth. He intends to maintain a prohibition of federal funding for the destruction of embryos as well as for human cloning. At the same time, however, he is prepared to allow federal funding for research on existing embryonic stem-cell lines, which he claims number over 60 and are a sufficient supply for the needs of medical research.
The president has elevated the public debate on this issue, and he has served the nation well in so doing. While I applaud him for setting limits, the line, which he has drawn, is going to be very difficult to maintain, judging from the comments of politicians calling for no limits and of scientists who question whether 60 stem-cell lines are sufficient. These comments reject the inherent value of embryonic human life, a value, which the president clearly affirms. It is because maintaining his position will be so difficult in today's cultural climate that I regret the president's decision to allow federal funding for experimentation on existing embryonic stem-cell lines.
I am, however, encouraged by both the president's commitment to the ethical dimension of this serious moral challenge and by his announcement that he will establish an ethics panel headed by the distinguished Dr. Leon Kass. I would hope that this panel will be rigorous in applying high standards of ethical conduct and protect the inviolable dignity of all human life, including embryonic human life.
Bishop O'Malley
"President Bush should be praised for his attempt to stem the tide on the most morally problematic dimensions of the embryonic stem-cell debate, for his aggressive promotion of research with adult and umbilical stem cells, and for his clear articulation of the inviolable dignity of human life, even in its earliest stages," Bishop Sean O'Malley of Fall River, Mass., said in a statement Aug. 10. But O'Malley said that while the president's decision allowing federal funding of research only on existing stem-cell lines might be regarded by some as "an example of morally acceptable material cooperation in evil, serious ethical questions remain. The pre-existing cell lines in question have been obtained at the expense of the destruction of early human life." O'Malley's statement follows.
There is much to praise in President Bush's address to the nation on stem-cell research. He clearly stated that life is a sacred gift from our Creator and that the president has an important obligation to foster respect for life in America and around the world. His policy against funding the destruction of more human embryos to generate new stem-cell lines is commendable. He unambiguously condemned human cloning. He debunked the hype associated with unethical practices like fetal-tissue research. He strongly encouraged and promised to support research on stem cells derived from adults, umbilical cords and placentas. This research has no ethical complications and has already shown, in contrast to embryonic stem-cell research, highly promising results. Finally, he forcefully condemned the utilitarian moral logic that has prevailed among proponents of unbridled embryonic stem-cell research, stating, "Even the most noble ends do not justify any means."
Many will have legitimate questions about the morality of the research that President Bush has decided to fund: research on already existing embryonic stem-cell lines. Moral principles can shed some light on this complex moral question. Because these embryonic stem-cell lines have been produced by an action that was morally evil — the willful destruction of human embryos — any subsequent use of the cells derived from that evil act raises the question of cooperation in evil.
While some might hold the president's policy to be an example of morally acceptable material cooperation in evil, serious ethical questions remain. The pre-existing cell lines in question have been obtained at the expense of the destruction of early human life. This raises moral problems similar to those inherent in using brain cells that are harvested from electively aborted fetuses to treat ailments like Parkinson's disease or to the use of human organs from Nazi medical experiments. Moreover, there is serious worry that even minimal public promotion and funding of embryonic stem-cell research will only lead to the more widespread creation and destruction of human embryos and a greater devaluing of human life.
Finally, the president's tacit approval of in vitro fertilization raises many concerns. The present embryonic stem-cell dilemma is the direct consequence of a culture in which the creation of new human life occurs not within the loving conjugal act of parents in the bedroom, but via the technical act of scientists in the laboratory. Because the moral implications of in vitro fertilization were not sufficiently examined by policymakers, we find ourselves in a situation where embryos are being produced in the laboratory, and many are being destroyed. This is just one indication of the dangers of scientific research vaulting ahead of ethical discernment.
President Bush should be praised for his attempt to stem the tide on the most morally problematic dimensions of the embryonic stem-cell debate, for his aggressive promotion of research with adult and umbilical stem cells, and for his clear articulation of the inviolable dignity of human life, even in its earliest stages. The presidential council he is forming will have a profound responsibility to preserve the very fragile moral boundaries the president has delineated. The president and his council need our prayers and our input.
Archbishop Flynn
"We as a nation must not allow human lives to be sacrificed on the altar of science," Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement Aug. 10. He said that while President Bush's announcement "appropriately restricts funding for certain forms of embryonic research and the president reaffirmed his support for a ban on human cloning, the church is gravely disturbed that the human rights of these tiniest unborn were not unilaterally respected. Any form of 'compromise' in the arena of human life is completely unacceptable." Flynn's statement follows.
Last evening President George W. Bush announced a critical decision regarding embryonic stem-cell research in America. While his decision appropriately restricts funding for certain forms of embryonic research and the president reaffirmed his support for a ban on human cloning, the church is gravely disturbed that the human rights of these tiniest unborn were not unilaterally respected. Any form of "compromise" in the arena of human life is completely unacceptable.
Respect for the human person, whether born or in the tiniest embryonic state, requires unequivocal vigilance. Allowing any form of embryonic stem-cell research flies in the face of responsible and ethical science, which disallows research on a subject without that individual's consent.
For the first time in history, the U.S. government will support research relying upon the destruction of defenseless human beings for the possible benefit of others. Members of Congress intent on rejecting limits on embryonic research will no doubt fight to allow the continuation of such research under way as a result of the Bush decision.
We as a nation must not allow human lives to be sacrificed on the altar of science. The church, along with ethicists worldwide, encourages science to focus its efforts on promising non-embryonic stem-cell research rather than destructive research, which demeans our very humanity.
We also call upon President Bush to return to a principled stand against allowing any human lives to be treated as mere objects manipulated and destroyed for research purposes.
I pray for the future of our nation and world that we have the moral fortitude to turn determinedly away from the culture of death and embrace the culture of life.
Cardinal Bevilacqua
"I would have preferred a total exclusion of funding for embryonic stem-cell research. At the same time, I am grateful that the president has remained faithful to his pro-life stance by banning the use of taxpayer money for research on stem cells that would require any future destruction of living human embryos," Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia said in a statement Aug. 10. Bevilacqua said that, "the president's decision does not eliminate all concerns, especially moral ones, regarding stem-cell research." The cardinal commended the president's "proposal to name a presidential council to monitor and examine further questions relating to stem-cell research." It must be remembered, Bevilacqua said, "that the church teaches that a human embryo is a human being . . . equal to any other human person [and] can never be used as a means to an end." Bevilacqua's statement follows.
It is with mixed feelings that I listened to the decision of President Bush regarding the use of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. From a Catholic perspective, I would have preferred a total exclusion of funding for embryonic stem-cell research. At the same time, I am grateful that the president has remained faithful to his pro-life stance by banning the use of taxpayer money for research on stem cells that would require any future destruction of living human embryos. The president will allow limited funding for research on 60 stem-cell lines presently available and already utilized in scientific research.
Stem-cell research is not limited to embryos. I am encouraged by the president's continued support for research on stem cells obtained in a moral and ethical manner from adults as well as from umbilical cords and placentas. Many respected scientists think that these cells hold as much if not more therapeutic promise than embryonic stem cells.
The president's decision does not eliminate all concerns, especially moral ones, regarding stem-cell research. I commend the president's proposal to name a presidential council to monitor and examine further questions relating to stem-cell research.
It is my hope that the presidential council will address some lingering moral concerns. Despite the president's good intentions to avoid destruction of human embryonic life, it is possible that even limited federal funding will contribute to an attitude that individual human beings serve a utilitarian purpose and that in some cases they can be destroyed for the good of others. We must remember that the church teaches that a human embryo is a human being endowed with a human soul and, equal to any other human person, can never be used as a means to an end, no matter how beneficial that end may be.
Scientists see great potential in their research on stem cells. They believe that research in this field may yield cures for various life-threatening diseases. The church encourages strongly all moral and ethical research that can lead to the beneficial treatment of human affliction and suffering. However, the church teaches that human life is a gift from God and every human life must be protected. The church will continue to defend the dignity of all human life, especially the life of the unborn. Our commitment to all human life is clearly expressed by our stance against any policy that judges one life, no matter how fragile, as less important than another.
Cardinal McCarrick
"There is much to support in the president's decision," including his "clear stand against human cloning" and "his restriction on funding further unlimited research." Yet "the president's decision . . . opens the door to experimentation on human beings," Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington said in a statement Aug. 10. He said that while he was glad the president would support the further funding of adult stem-cell research, he regretted that the "decision seems to have crossed a dangerous line in the history of American scientific life." McCarrick's statement follows.
I believe that the vast majority of Americans joined President Bush in his concern to come to the right decision on the question of stem-cell research. We watched and prayed as he struggled to weigh the pros and cons of this terribly complex question of human life, of scientific research and of a future made possibly brighter for many of our brothers and sisters through new advances in medicine. There is much to support in the president's decision. His clear stand against human cloning is firmly in the American tradition of respect for the human person as a gift from God the Creator. His restriction on funding further unlimited research is important. The slippery slope of unlimited scientific investigation is a grave and dangerous interference with the very nature of human beings, who are surely more than merely intelligent machines.
On the other hand, the president's decision unfortunately allows the allotment of federal funding — the money we pay in our taxes — for something many of us feel to be morally wrong. It opens the door to experimentation on human beings. Even today anti-life voices are being raised in the Congress and in parts of the scientific community demanding that the president's guidelines be broadened and expanded. I find it tragic that we have come so far in our pursuit of a culture of death that some people can be so sure of the worthlessness of human life in its early stages that they would deny all protection and reverence for this awesome gift of God.
It is not that we have proven that embryonic cell research is indispensable. Adult stem-cell experimentation has already demonstrated its ability to do all those things that science hopes embryonic cell research can ultimately deliver. Thousands of Americans have already benefited from it without the destruction of human life. I am glad that the president will support the further funding of this adult cell research but I regret that his decision seems to have crossed a dangerous line in the history of American scientific life.
Cardinal Egan
Cardinal Edward Egan of New York called on President Bush to "reconsider his decision" on embryonic stem-cell research. In a statement Aug. 13, Egan said that Bush's Aug. 9 speech to the nation "was both encouraging and disappointing." The cardinal cited the president's opposition to the cloning of human beings, his rejection of the creation of a human embryo for purposes of experimentation and his announcement of funding for research on stem cells derived from adults, from the placenta and from the umbilical cord as encouraging points, but said the president's position was disappointing because by authorizing federal funding "on the stem-cell lines of embryos that had been killed," he appeared "to grant a measure of approval to the killing of a human being in the embryonic state." Egan's statement follows.
The address of the president of the United States on Aug. 9 concerning stem-cell research was both encouraging and disappointing. It was encouraging because it unconditionally condemned the cloning of human beings, because it rejected the creation of a human embryo for purposes of "experimenting on it or exploiting it as a natural resource" and because it announced significant federal funding for research on stem cells derived from adults, the placenta and the umbilical cord. The address was disappointing, however, because it authorized tax dollars for experimentation on the stem-cell lines of embryos that had been killed, thus at least appearing to grant a measure of approval to the killing of a human being in the embryonic state.
With all of this in mind, my voice is added to those who earnestly invite the president to reconsider his decision. His original opposition to all embryonic stem-cell research was wise, courageous and worthy of the leader of a nation founded on the premise that every human being at every stage in his or her life enjoys an inalienable right to live.
National Right To Life Committee
The pro-life movement must now "focus its energy to stop efforts in Congress that would require the destruction of human embryos for research purposes," said David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee, which describes itself as the "nation's largest pro-life group." In a statement Aug. 10, he commended President Bush's decision "to prevent the federal government from becoming involved in research and experimentation that would require the deliberate destruction of human embryos." O'Steen said, "In taking this position, the president has acted to save the lives that he could." O'Steen's statement follows.
We commend President Bush's decision to prevent the federal government from becoming involved in research and experimentation that would require the deliberate destruction of human embryos. In taking this position, the president has acted to save the lives that he could.
We further commend President Bush's strong opposition to all human cloning and to the creation of human embryos for research purposes.
While we mourn the lives of those children that were killed to derive the 60-plus stem-cell lines that currently exist, there is nothing that we as a pro-life community or President Bush can do to restore the lives of those children. Neither President Bush nor the federal government had anything to do with the destruction of those embryos or the establishment of those cell lines. Certainly, if the president could have prevented the death of those embryos, he would have. President Bush has shown his commitment to protecting the lives that he can.
In his statement last night President Bush said that he believes "human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry about a culture that devalues life and believe as your president I have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world."
Now the pro-life movement must focus its energy to stop efforts in Congress that would require the destruction of human embryos for research purposes.
Cardinal Maida
"We remember here in Michigan when scores of weak, vulnerable people were victimized at the end of their lives with claims of false mercy and compassion," Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit said Aug. 9 after President Bush's speech to the nation. Embryos are no less vulnerable, he said. "They deserve our protection, not experimentation." Making a so-called spare or discarded embryo "part of a controlled research project doesn't change its genesis, its dignity, its humanity," said Maida. His statement follows.
While there is — and always will be — a moral component to this issue, for me this comes down to a basic question of human rights. Regardless of its status in the laboratory queue, a so-called spare or discarded embryo is no less the beginning of personhood than any other human embryo. Making it part of a controlled research project doesn't change its genesis, its dignity, its humanity.
We remember here in Michigan when scores of weak, vulnerable people were victimized at the end of their lives with claims of false mercy and compassion. We saw the slippery slope in action. These tiny specks, these stem cells, are no less vulnerable. They deserve our protection, not experimentation. Our government should not be funding their destruction in the name of progress, no matter how limited or well intentioned the research.
Father Place
"A society's use of that which is derived from an immoral action — even for a noble end — must be a source of grave moral concern. Human life deserves full respect and protection at every stage and under every condition," Father Michael Place, president of the Catholic Health Association, said in a statement Aug. 10. Place said the CHA "supports President Bush's decision not to provide federal funding for the procurement of stem cells from existing embryos or embryos produced for that purpose." However, Place said, "what could appear as a carefully nuanced solution to a complex issue ... itself raises significant moral concerns for our society." Place's statement follows.
The Catholic Health Association of the United States supports President Bush's decision not to provide federal funding for the procurement of stem cells from existing embryos or embryos produced for that purpose.
That being said, what could appear as a carefully nuanced solution to a complex issue — utilizing the already existing cultured stem-cell lines — itself raises significant moral concerns for our society. Because these cell lines resulted from the destruction of human embryonic life, their origin is morally reprehensible. The continued use of these cultured stem-cell lines by scientists involves complicity in the destruction of embryonic human life.
A society's use of that which is derived from an immoral action — even for a noble end — must be a source of grave moral concern. Human life deserves full respect and protection at every stage and under every condition.
The Catholic health ministry, which supports the scientific use of adult stem cells for research and therapeutic treatments, is pleased that the president values research utilizing adult and other non-embryonic stem-cells. In addition, we welcome the creation of a presidential council to monitor future developments in the area of stem-cell research.
Furthermore, we hope the new presidential council will assist the president in recognizing the moral inconsistency of his current position.
Monsignor Strynkowski
Msgr. John Strynkowski, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices, said that the basic moral problem with President Bush's embryonic stem-cell research plan is that it promotes complicity in evil. Strynkowski said that the Bush decision puts the country on a "slippery slope" of "expanding morally dubious research."
The Bush decision concerns federal funding of research. It does not relate to privately funded research that may involve the destruction of embryos.
Strynkowski said a government policy sanctioning research based on destroyed embryos constitutes scandal in the classical moral meaning of the term — defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as "an attitude or behavior, which leads another to do evil." Strynkowski said: "This approval of federal funding of research on embryonic stem-cell lines, I suspect, will provoke others to the immoral act of destroying embryos for research purposes. It's a provocation to further immoral acts."
Strynkowski said: "For me personally, the argument that's most persuasive is the 'slippery slope' argument." He said: "Once you've begun on this track, there's no turning back. If not this administration, the next administration will be faced with the issue again. The temptation is to keep expanding morally dubious research."
Vatican
When Pope John Paul II and President Bush met July 23 at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence outside Rome (see Origins, the edition dated Aug. 2), the pope expressed his opposition to embryonic stem-cell research. He said: "A tragic coarsening of consciences accompanies the assault on innocent human life in the womb, leading to accommodation and acquiescence in the face of other related evils such as euthanasia, infanticide and, most recently, proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction in the process." Two days later, after it was suggested by some that the pope's remarks might have opened the door to the possibility of an ethical use and destruction of embryos that were not originally created for research purposes, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls issued the following statement:
"The Holy Father has wanted to take this opportunity to repeat the ethical unacceptability of 'proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction in the process.' On the other hand, it is important not to forget what John Paul II wrote in his well-known encyclical 'Evangelium Vitae':
"'This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses — sometimes specifically 'produced' for this purpose by in vitro fertilization — either to be used as 'biological material' or as 'providers of organs or tissue for transplants' in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act.'"
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a press release containing the above statement July 25. It was issued in Navarro-Valls' name in order "to clarify misleading reports that the Holy Father might tolerate the killing of any embryos in" embryonic stem-cell research.
Pontifical Academy For Life
In an Aug. 25, 2000, declaration, the Pontifical Academy for Life examined issues related to embryonic stem cells, also called ES cells. In the concluding section of the declaration, ethical problems were discussed. Here is an integral excerpt from that section of the declaration:
"The first ethical problem, which is fundamental, can be formulated thus: Is it morally licit to produce and/ or use living human embryos for the preparation of ES cells?
"The answer is negative, for the following reasons:
"1. On the basis of a complete biological analysis, the living human embryo is — from the moment of the union of the gametes — a human subject with a well defined identity, which from that point begins its own coordinated, continuous and gradual development, such that at no later stage can it be considered as a simple mass of cells.
"2. From this it follows that as a 'human individual' it has the right to its own life; and therefore every intervention which is not in favor of the embryo is an act which violates that right. Moral theology has always taught that in the case of 'jus certum tertii' the system of probabilism does not apply.
"3. Therefore, the ablation of the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, which critically and irremediably damages the human embryo, curtailing its development, is a gravely immoral act and consequently is gravely illicit.
"4. No end believed to be good, such as the use of stem cells for the preparation of other differentiated cells to be used in what look to be promising therapeutic procedures, can justify an intervention of this kind. A good end does not make right an action, which in itself is wrong.
"5. For Catholics, this position is explicitly confirmed by the magisterium of the church which, in the encyclical 'Evangelium Vitae,' with reference to the instruction 'Donum Vitae' of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, affirms: 'The church has always taught and continues to teach that the result of human procreation, from the first moment of its existence, must be guaranteed that unconditional respect which is morally due to the human being in his or her totality and unity in body and spirit: "The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life" (DV, I, 1)' (No. 60).
"The second ethical problem can be formulated thus: Is it morally licit to engage in so-called 'therapeutic cloning' by producing cloned human embryos and then destroying them in order to produce ES cells?
"The answer is negative, for the following reason: Every type of therapeutic cloning, which implies producing human embryos and then destroying them in order to obtain stem cells, is illicit; for there is present the ethical problem examined above, which can only be answered in the negative.
"The third ethical problem can be formulated thus: Is it morally licit to use ES cells and the differentiated cells obtained from them, which are supplied by other researchers or are commercially obtainable?
"The answer is negative, since: prescinding from the participation — formal or otherwise — in the morally illicit intention of the principal agent, the case in question entails a proximate material cooperation in the production and manipulation of human embryos on the part of those producing or supplying them.
"In conclusion, it is not hard to see the seriousness and gravity of the ethical problem posed by the desire to extend to the field of human research the production and/or use of human embryos, even from a humanitarian perspective.
"The possibility, now confirmed, of using adult stem cells to attain the same goals as would be sought with embryonic stem cells — even if many further steps in both areas are necessary before clear and conclusive results are obtained — indicates that adult stem cells represent a more reasonable and human method for making correct and sound progress in this new field of research and in the therapeutic applications which it promises. These applications are undoubtedly a source of great hope for a significant number of suffering people."
Knights Of Columbus
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus expressed his organization's disappointment at the decision announced Aug. 9 by President Bush. Anderson issued the following statement Aug. 9:
"At our annual Supreme Council meeting, which concluded today, the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution strongly condemning human embryonic stem-cell research and calling on our government not to fund it.
"The Knights of Columbus can only express its deepest disappointment over President Bush's decision.
"This decision to fund such research is all the more baffling in that ethical avenues to pursue this research — avenues that all can agree upon — are available with adult stem cells. Adult stem-cell research has proved highly successful and is proving to be as valuable, and perhaps even more so, in advancing medical progress. Indeed, adult stem cells are being used successfully in human clinical trials. In marked contrast, embryonic stem cells have never helped a single human patient."
Diocese Of Pittsburgh
Here is an Aug. 9 statement of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on President Bush's announcement:
"President Bush announced tonight that our federal tax dollars could be used to fund embryonic stem-cell research on cells from embryos already destroyed.
"The Catholic Church wholly supports stem-cell research using ethically acceptable sources of stem cells from adult tissue, placentas and umbilical cords. Stem cells from these sources have already been proved effective in numerous cases. However, despite our commitment to adult stem-cell research, we are adamantly opposed to the use of embryonic stem cells because they can be harvested only by killing human embryos. We cannot allow our technology to disregard the sacredness of human life.
"The federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research places our nation in the position of viewing human life as a commodity. How frightening it is to be standing on a precipice where our government condones the selling of our souls to save our bodies. As Bishop Donald W. Wuerl has stated, 'Once we admit personally or societally and place into law the presumption that we can take an innocent human life any time we want, at whatever stage we determine, we put in motion a destructive whirlwind that will surely empty all technology and scientific advancement of moral and ethical restraint or true value . . . Historically the most persuasive argument to permit all kinds of human atrocity has been that the end justifies the means. Embryonic stem-cell research relies entirely on this argument for its moral justification.'
" 'Granted, the life we are speaking about is in its earliest stages and still needs to be greatly developed; nonetheless, it is a member of the human species,' Bishop Wuerl has said. 'We as human beings, in solidarity with that life, even though it is tiny and undifferentiated at this point, are not free to see it as simply a commodity for our convenience or benefit. We are not the lords of the house of life.'
"We know that from the moment of conception the power of human life is present in a continuum that will not end until death. But nowhere in that journey should our humanity be questioned because of our age, size or vulnerability.
"'We cannot proceed down this road of scientific development without moral reflection, without ethical judgment,' Bishop Wuerl added. 'It is the task of the church, as it is of all members of society, to be alert to the wisdom of God when it offers ethical and moral reflection on what we are capable technologically of doing. It is a question not of what we can do, but of what we ought to do — what we must do. We cannot allow our technology to outstrip our ethical reflection. To be truly human means that we make decisions reflective of the moral order and not based on the emotional appeal of what works for me right now.'
"In this difficult time, let us continue to pray for a true respect for life at all stages of development, from conception to natural death. Let us especially continue to pray for enlightenment of our leaders in government, for doctors and medical researchers and our nation as a whole.
©2001 by Catholic Answers, Inc.
This item 3960 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
