As the International Society for Stem Cell Research points out below, "the official teaching of the Holy See is not the only interpretation of Catholic tradition." Everyone must form their opinions in their mind and heart, and I respect the right of everyone to form their opinions on any facts that they find morally convincing.
"In contrast, Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., of Georgetown University states a Catholic case against embryo use. As is well known, the official teaching of the Holy See of the Roman Catholic is unequivocal in its opposition to the use of embryos as means. For one who holds that we should treat every embryo as a person for purposes of the duty not to kill, embryo-destructive experiments could gain justification only if it were argued that it is sometimes permissible to kill some persons in order to help other persons, and that is an uphill argument within any moral view. But the official teaching of the Holy See is not the only interpretation of Catholic tradition. Margaret Farley, Ph.D., of Yale University explains that in history and in present theological discussion, there is more than one Catholic line of reasoning, including a strong Catholic moral defense of humanitarian embryo use. For one who concludes that we are not obliged to! refrain from using embryos that will never enter a womb, embryonic stem cell research is a case of fostering a worthy end by using only nonpersons as means."
http://www.isscr.org/public/ethics.htm
This issue must kept in the minds of the public. It can't be pushed aside or ignored, it is something that is growing with each day. For me there are too many questions left open not to look deeper into the issues that they bring up.
With Love,
CtrlAltDel aka Dave
C4/5 Complete - 28 Years Post
Texas, USA
Jim Lubin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi Dave,
Embryos used in IVF, as they as they were created to be used for, try to create a human life. Some don't survive the process as in nature when a miscarriage happens. When they are used for Somatic cell nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning) they are intentionally destroyed.So the argument is that excess frozen embryos not used for IVF will no longer continue to grow and die, so they should be used for Somatic cell nuclear transfer instead of going to waste. If that embryo is the beginning of a human life (which some have said are precious and should be treated with respect), then how is different then say euthanizing someone in a coma to use their organs to help someone else? I think most people would agree that would be morally wrong.
I never really cared either way. People who want to use embryos say they exist so why not use them. That seemed to make sense. So I started searching for reasons why people were against using them. Since I consider myself a Catholic I checked what The Vatican had to say on the subject. In the document "Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells" http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pa_acdlife_doc_20000824_cellule-staminali_en.html I foundThis started to sway my opinion on the subject. If we are going to respect human life then we must respect it at all stages from beginning of life to end of life.
- On the basis of a complete biological analysis, the living human embryo is - from the moment of the union of the gametes - a human subject with a well defined identity, which from that point begins its own coordinated, continuous and gradual development, such that at no later stage can it be considered as a simple mass of cells
Just my humble opinion.
Jim
At 06:50 PM 11/1/2004, David K. Kelmer wrote:
This is my point. There are embryonic cells that are being destroyed now, and more are being made and frozen as I write this. They will never all be "donated" to other couples, those couples what their own, and theirs will be added to the cells already frozen. If saying that these cells are being destroyed now, which they are, without looking at other options, sounds to you like the medical experiments performed on the Jews by the Nazis', then why does our government continue to license the IVF clinics? Why are the voices expressing outrage at cell "research" not speaking out against IVF clinics "freezing" cells? How can the Science that helps infertile couples have children be called good, if the same Science when used to do "research" is called bad?----
Jim Lubin
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bothell, WA, USA
http://makoa.org/jim
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