Cardinal Rigali criticizes new stem-cell research guidelines, warns against impending legislation

April 22, 2009

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement on April 21 criticizing the National Institutes of Health’s new draft guidelines for embryonic stem-cell research. “New draft guidelines for federally funded stem cell research involving the destruction of human embryos, released Friday by the National Institutes of Health, mark a new chapter in divorcing biomedical research from its necessary ethical foundation,” he said. “Without unconditional respect for the life of each and every member of the human race, research involving human subjects does not represent true progress. It becomes another way for some human beings to use and mistreat others for their own goals.”

After discussing how the guidelines encourage parents to consent to the “destruction of living embryonic human beings,” Cardinal Rigali warns against pending congressional legislation that is even more extreme:

It is noteworthy that, despite calls for an even broader policy by some in Congress and the research community, the draft guidelines do not allow federally funded stem cell research using embryos specially created for research purposes by in vitro fertilization or cloning. We can hope that the NIH and Congress will continue to respect this ethical norm, and will realize that the alleged “need” for violating it is more implausible than ever due to advances in reprogramming adult cells to act like embryonic stem cells. However, congressional supporters of destructive human embryo research have already said they will pursue a more extreme policy.

 

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Further information:

• Cardinal Rigali Criticizes Draft NIH Guidelines For Destructive Stem Cell Research (USCCB)
• Draft National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research (NIH)
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Instruction on certain bioethical questions ( Dignitas Personae, 2008)