U.S. Catholic bishops, convening today in Orlando, Fla., for their spring meeting, will vote on a proposed statement opposing embryonic stem-cell research. If approved, it would be the first formal statement by the bishops devoted exclusively to this issue.
The document says researchers are not ethically justified in destroying human embryos to produce stem cells for research.
The statement reads, in part: "Once we cross a fundamental moral line that prevents us from treating any fellow human being as a mere object of research, there is no stopping point. The only moral stance that affirms the human dignity of all of us is to reject the first step down this path."
The document closes with a reminder that the use of adult stem cells and umbilical-cord blood have been shown to offer "a better way" to produce cells that can benefit patients suffering from heart disease, corneal damage, sickle-cell anemia, multiple sclerosis and many other diseases.
"There is no moral objection to research and therapy of this kind, when it harms no human being and is conducted with appropriate informed consent," it reads. "Catholic foundations and medical centers have been, and will continue to be, among the leading supporters of ethically responsible advances in the medical use of adult stem cells."
The statement must be approved by two-thirds of members.
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Read about the successes of adult stem-cell research.
