The
Price of Embryonic
Stem
Cell Research
A Pastoral Letter from the
Catholic Bishops of
In 2006, voters in
Shortly after the results of the
Concerned at such a prospect, we
want to offer Catholics and all people of good will in
What
is a stem cell?
Stem cells are primitive human
cells that, when they divide, can form a variety of more specialized cells. For
example, just one type of stem cell in our bone marrow works to replace all the
different types of blood cells (white, red, etc.) when we need them.
Adult
stem cell research
Human stem cells hold great
promise for the development of therapies to regenerate damaged organs, and to
heal people who are suffering from terrible diseases. Most scientific research
uses cells obtained from adult tissue, blood from the umbilical cord, and other
sources that pose no moral problems. Versatile stem cells have been found in
bone marrow, blood, muscle, fat, nerves, amniotic fluid, and even the pulp of
baby teeth. Many successful therapies have been developed using these adult
stem cells.
We Catholics applaud the vast
array of scientific research that is conducted ethically and that respects the
dignity of the human person. We strongly support stem cell research using adult
and umbilical cord stem cells.
Embryonic
stem cell research
Some scientists, however, are
interested in doing research using stem cells obtained by killing human embryos
when they are about one week old. These embryos are obtained from one of two
sources.
In
vitro fertilization
Embryonic stem cell research
commonly involves harvesting cells from human embryos created in a laboratory
by “in vitro” fertilization. The embryos created are frozen and stored for
future use. For various reasons, not all the embryos are used. Some people
consider these “leftover” embryos as a potential resource for scientific
research. This is a morally unacceptable process on many grounds, and the cell
harvesting process itself destroys the living embryo.
Human
cloning
Embryonic stem cells might also
be harvested from embryos created by cloning, also known as “somatic cell
nuclear transfer” (the same process used to create Dolly the sheep). In human
cloning, the nucleus from an adult donor cell is inserted into a donated egg
cell from which the nucleus has been removed. The inserted nucleus provides the
necessary DNA for the new cell to function and divide. The resulting human
embryo is allowed to grow for several days, then
destroyed to obtain stem cells for experimentation.
Some would distinguish between
“therapeutic” cloning and “reproductive” cloning, but the process is the same
in both cases. The only difference is what is done with the new embryo created
by the cloning process: implant it in a woman’s womb to attempt a live birth;
or destroy it to harvest its stem cells. Thus far, however, despite many years
of experimentation by scientists all over the world, all attempts to use human
cloning for either “so-called” therapeutic or reproductive purposes have
failed.
Serious
moral problems:
destruction of
human life
Some hold there is no moral problem with
harvesting cells from embryos because they claim that the embryo only holds the
potential for human life and is not actually human. But the human embryo is not
something other than human; human stem cells can only be harvested from a human
being. It is just that this human being was killed instead of allowing it to
develop normally. Regardless of whether the human embryo is obtained from “in
vitro” fertilization or human cloning, human life is destroyed for the sake of
scientific research, in the search for (as yet purely hypothetical) medical
therapies. This is a crime against life. It is never morally permissible to
destroy one human life, even if it is done in the hope of benefiting other
human beings. Laws intended to sanction embryonic stem cell research are
immoral because they give legal protection to the violation of the most
fundamental of all human rights.
Serious
moral problems: pragmatism
Embryonic stem cell research
focuses on the advance of science and the potential of curing diseases, but to
the detriment of human life and dignity. Some even say this is a small price to
pay for the economic development of Kansas: if we do not permit and promote
embryonic stem cell research, they say, we stand to lose the economic benefits
promised by the biotechnology industry (a similar argument was used by
proponents of slavery, who said that certain states could not survive
economically without this despicable institution). Such claims are
baseless, as other states and countries that ban human cloning have taken a
leadership role in the development of biotechnology. The primary question is
whether embryonic stem cell research can be pursued without harming another
human being, and our own humanity in the process. The answer to this question
is quite clearly “no.”
Some proponents also argue that
if the frozen embryo is going to be killed anyway, what can be wrong with using
them for the benefit of others. This line of reasoning is flawed. A death-row
prisoner, a terminally ill patient, and indeed each living person will die one
day, but that does not entitle another to kill human life at will for the
purposes of scientific experimentation. What is more, in the case of frozen
embryos, they would survive if someone had not decided to give them over to be
killed for research purposes, instead of implanting them in their mother’s
womb.
Serious
moral problems: victimizing women
Women, too, are victimized by
the promotion of embryonic stem cell research. The process of cloning human
embryos for research requires a huge number of female eggs. There is a certain
amount of inconvenience, pain and substantial health risk associated with the
process for harvesting eggs. For this reason, it is likely that only women
driven by need (typically the poor, including ethnic minority women, students,
and women from developing countries) would donate the eggs needed for
experimentation. Advance in research and finding cures for disease would be
achieved at the expense not only of human beings at their earliest stage of
development, but also of women in desperate circumstances.
Conclusion
Each of us was once an embryo.
This affirmation is based on a clear grasp of the most basic biology, not on
religious faith. Once human life begins (which always occurs at fertilization,
or at an event that mimics fertilization, like cloning), this new living being
is a member of the human race who is worthy of respect and protection from harm
threatened by embryonic stem cell research. The human embryo has such a claim
on all of us.
As Catholics, our opposition to embryonic stem cell research is also
confirmed and strengthened by our faith. We believe that God became man in the
womb of the Virgin Mary, going through all the stages of prenatal human
development. This religious truth elevates the dignity of human nature above
that of even the angels and sanctifies human life from its beginning at
conception to natural death. And if that were not enough, the sacrificial death
of Jesus on the cross communicates the height and depth, the length and breadth
of the love God has for each of us. Jesus, the Son of God, gave himself up to
death, shedding his last drop of blood, because each individual human life
created by God is of incalculable worth.
How can we value so little what
God values so much?