The Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania today released a joint statement, Questions and Answers on Stem Cell Research. The document is intended to serve as an educational tool for clarifying the Church's teaching on the issue and explaining why embryonic stem cell research is morally unacceptable.
Upon releasing the document, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, said, "The Catholic Church's rich heritage of ethical teaching in the medical-moral area and her duty to transmit moral guidance provide a framework for decision-making and the understanding of stem cell research. The Church encourages the development of human understanding in this area in a manner that respects the sanctity of human life at every stage.
"The bishops note that we are reminded in the "Vatican Instruction on Respect for Human Life" that "no objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings, or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living human embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother's body."Dr. Robert J. O'Hara, Jr., executive director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, said, "At a time when public policy makers are considering spending taxpayer money to finance various bio-medical research initiatives, it is appropriate to consider the moral impact of such research."
No comments:
Post a Comment