Bush stem cell decision condemned

Social justice news
September 2001

U.S. remains global master of war
Bush stem cell decision condemned
Drought adds to woes in hard-hit Central America
From welfare poor to working poor?
Layoffs lead to more lucre for U.S. CEOs
New report says "three strikes" strikes out
Report warns of slowing progress on child hunger

Other news this month

Bush stem cell decision condemned
After months of debate and consultation with scientific, political, and religious officials, President Bush finally announced his decision August 9 to allow federal funding for embryonic research on existing stem cell lines.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says he made the wrong choice. "The federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others," Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, president of the bishops' conference, said the day Bush revealed his policy. "However such a decision is hedged about with qualifications, it allows our nation's research enterprise to cultivate a disrespect for human life."

Bush announced he will support federal funding for research using embryonic stem cells derived from the 60 cell lines already established as of August 9, but that he would not allow funding for research based on stem cells taken from any additional embryos, including the 100,000 frozen embryos currently in fertility labs throughout the country. The Clinton Administration prohibited government funding for the actual destruction of human embryos and for any research involving embryos specifically created for study, but it allowed spending on stem cells obtained from embryos destroyed by private organizations.

Researchers have argued embryonic stem cells, cells capable of regenerating themselves indefinitely, may hold the promise of new treatments for a host of human ailments, including Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. The Catholic Church has opposed such research because embryonic stem cells can only be obtained through the destruction of embryos.

The U.S. bishops say Bush's attempt at compromise—his decision to fund research using cells already obtained from embryos, but to withhold support for research that would require the destruction of more embryos—will not allow the government to escape moral blame for the killing of innocent life.

Following his announcement, the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities released a statement analyzing the president's policy. It said: "These human embryos did not die of natural causes, or for reasons unrelated to researchers' goals. They were destroyed for the sake of this research, in ways tailored to provide the most usable cells for the research. Federal funds will be awarded directly to those researchers who destroyed the embryos for this purpose, or to those who pay those researchers for the right to use the cell lines."

The Secretariat's statement also said the president's 60-line limitation is "arbitrary" and may prove unenforceable. "Scientists will undoubtedly continue to kill additional embryos with private funds, and if the first set of 60 proves inadequate they will recommend these new cell lines for use in federally funded research," the statement said.

"The President's policy may therefore prove to be as unworkable as it is morally wrong, ultimately serving only those whose goal is unlimited embryo research," Fiorenza concluded.

Other critics and medical ethicists point out that Bush's policy statement on stem cells only addresses federally funded research without attempting to lay down any government guideliness around stem-cell research broadly. They worry that, without government intervention, the global free market will continue to serve as the primary drive of the ethics of stem-cell and related research. That means private research facilities will continue to operate beyond any government restraint. Several such facilities have already acknowledged creating human embryos specifically for research and destroying them as part of that research.—Anne Graber

For more information:
Related stories from SOTE:
August
April

From U.S. Catholic:
Unnatural Selection

Others:
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Stem cell research
National Institute of Health

Back to page top