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austraLasia 898
 
Stem Cells: Ford's message of 'Unconditional respect for embryo' .
(Leading Salesian bio-ethicist joins US/German debate on stem-cell research)
 
WASHINGTON: 4th October '04 -- The joint symposium on 'Ethics, Public Policy and Law: The Stem Cell Debate in the USA and Federal Republic of Germany', sponsored by the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, has invited Dr. Norman Ford SDB, leading contributor in the worldwide stem cell debate, to offer theological and philosophical grounds for the argument of unconditional respect for human embryos.  This contribution takes place on Monday 4th October.  Dr. Ford is co-author of the book Stem Cells. Science, Medicine, Law & Ethics (St. Paul's Publication, Strathfield NSW 2003). 
    Herewith the core of Dr. Ford's contribution at CUA:

    "The biblical texts and the early Christian tradition, taken as a whole, portray God as actively present throughout the human formative process, and especially for the creation of each human being’s spiritual soul.  In biblical times it was simply taken for granted that any assault upon life in the womb was an offence against God and a rejection of the divine gift of life.  Biblical texts show they stand for a culture of prenatal life and provide strong theological grounds for saying that human embryos belong to God their Creator and for claiming that they have intrinsic value, worthy of absolute moral respect.

     "Respect for human embryos is based on the divinely conferred natural active potential of their genome to direct and organise continuous development and growth from conception to birth and to adulthood in accord with the Creator’s plan. The formative process of the developing embryo is naturally linked to its terminus, ie, a human being with a rational nature, a subject of inestimable worth and personal dignity, made in the image of God. All this, in my view, suffices to justify a duty of absolute respect for human embryos.  The embryo is good in itself and endowed with moral inviolability.

     "If a materialistic philosophy is adopted, reference to humans made in God’s image and the sanctity of human life fades out of focus and utilitarianism moves to centre stage. Utilitarianism has a place in ethical decision making, but not as the fundamental criterion of morality, which is based on what is truly good for person(s) in accord with their natures. What is immoral in itself cannot be justified by good consequences: the end does not justify the means.

     "The moral inviolability of human embryos excludes research using human embryonic (ES) cells obtained by the destruction of embryos.  Ethically it makes no difference whether embryos are formed by IVF or cloning. The fact that excess frozen embryos are allowed to perish in any case does not justify killing live embryos for research or therapeutic purposes.  It would be even worse to create embryos that are destined to be destroyed. 

     "Any use of ES cells obtained by the destruction of human embyos would imply tacit approval of, or collusion with, their destruction.  Researchers, then, should abandon using pluripotent ES cells, and concentrate on ethical alternatives such as adult stem cells, and especially pluripotent stem cells from placental cord blood.  These have recently been discovered in Germany by Gesine Kögler and colleagues."

_______________________________________

'austraLasia' is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia-Pacific.  It functions also as an agency for ANS, based in Rome.  Try also www.bosconet.aust.com.  Did you know that Fondo Don Bosco is not one of the many financial entities linked to missionary activity, but a collection of some 30,000 documents in the Salesian Central Archives. For further comment cf Lexisdb
 

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