Statement by the Catholic Bishops of Texas
On Human Embryos and Human Cloning
May 23, 2005
The State of Texas has been one of many states
in the forefront regarding the debate of human cloning and human embryo
research. The Catholic Bishops of this state share the belief of most Texans
that all human life, regardless of development, is made in the image and
likeness of our Creator. As such, it is imperative that Texans not waver, even
for the noblest of goals, from the commitment to protect every innocent human
being. The fact is that human life is sacred and to intentionally destroy
innocent human life for medical research purposes is ethically unacceptable.
As it has become painfully obvious, many embryos created by the joining of sperm
and egg through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are either abandoned or left in
frozen storage. Many in the scientific community have been asking to use
so-called “spare” or “excess” embryos from fertility clinics since they believe
that these embryos will not be implanted. They believe that they better serve
humanity by being relegated to destructive research. We disagree. The truth is
that the value of the lives of these “spare” embryos is not affected by whether
these embryos are wanted or abandoned, but rather for what they actually
are—human beings at the earliest stages of development.
Today many in the scientific community ask to use
both these “spare” embryos and to be allowed to use cloning technology, also
known as Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), to create a supply of human
embryos. Some in the scientific community have argued that these SCNT embryos
are either “pre-embryos” or not even embryos at all, but rather “cells” in a
Petri dish that have no chance of fully developing because they were not
fertilized. This argumentation is misguided. It is an established fact that
medical science has proved that the life of an individual does begin at
conception with a complete genetic code, regardless if the embryo is created
through fertilization or asexual (cloning) methods. Life DOES NOT begin at
“implantation” as some in the scientific community would have us believe, but
rather begins at conception as biology has proven. This is a biological fact not
just a religious belief. We urge that the Texas Legislature pass laws that
prohibit the killing of human embryos, however created, for research purposes.
We also oppose any bill that would fund the killing of these human embryos for
research and urge the legislature to pass laws that prohibit state funding of
the intentional destruction of human embryos. We also urge the legislature to
pass a law that bans all forms of human cloning. Simply put, the Catholic Church
opposes human therapeutic or reproductive cloning for any reason and we will
oppose any legislation that would allow any form of human cloning that creates
life.
Let us be clear—we are not opposed to stem cell
research, only that stem cell research that kills human embryos. We fully
support adult stem cell research since it does not take the life of the donor
and we ask our legislature to help these morally acceptable efforts.
It is unfortunate that many in the research
community have made expansive claims for the benefits of human embryonic stem
cell research. However, these claims are conjectural and have been conjectural
over the last several years. Human embryonic stem cell research has not produced
one therapeutic benefit since the research began in the late 1990’s. However, at
the same time, adult stem cells have been used to help hundreds of thousands, if
not already millions, of patients and new clinical uses expand monthly.
We hope and pray that all Catholics and citizens of
good intention will thoughtfully consider these reflections and agree that our
state government ought not to support research that relies on the deliberate
destruction of innocent human beings. Please call on elected officials and urge
them to support legislation that bans all forms of human cloning and legislation
that would prohibit state funds from being used to destroy human embryos.
Our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II discussed
these issues in an address to the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences on
November, 2003 when he stated: “ Any treatment which claims to save human
lives, yet is based upon the destruction of human life in its embryonic state,
is logically and morally contradictory, as in any production of human embryos
for the direct or indirect purpose of experimentation or eventual destruction.”
