Stem Cell Research 1

Stem Cell Research 1

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So why does the Church condemn stem cell research? The simple answer is this: she doesn’t. What the Church rightly condemns is embryonic stem cell research that results in the intentional killing of human embryos, that is, tiny little human beings whose lives are as precious as those the research intended to help.

Perhaps if there were a way for stem cells to be taken from embryos without killing them, this issue would look different. As it happens, however, all the methods of retrieving embryonic stem cells involve an act of murder. Whether we induce abortion to acquire the stem cells of early embryos, whether we produce embryos in a lab, or whether we use the spare embryos from in-vitro fertilization, the process always involves taking the life of a tiny person. That person may not feel that he or she is being killed, but that does not lessen the gravity of the crime.

For many, the Church is simply holding back medical advancement, and for those who have loved ones suffering from diseases that stem cell research may help, there is often a lot of resentment. In this debate that will likely go on for many more years, cooler heads must prevail. How gruesomely ironic would it be if we began to save lives of those suffering from disease only by taking the lives of others. Would that really be medical advancement?

Fortunately, we can still hope for fruitful stem cell research that does not involve the killing of embryos at all, and what many fail to mention is that research on adult and infant stem cells very well may be just as promising as the embryonic stem cell research that the church condemns. Predictably, the Church fully supports non-lethal stem cell research which proves that its views, as always, are measured, principles, well articulated, and consistent.