Pope reiterates warning against use of embryonic stem cells

Published: 2003-11-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Stem-cell research opens new hope for curing diseases, but such cells must never come from human embryonic tissue, Pope John Paul II told scientists at the Vatican. "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 is any production of human embryos for the direct or indirect purpose of experimentation or eventual destruction," the pope said Nov. 10. He made the remarks to members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which was meeting to discuss "stem-cell technology and other innovative therapies." The pope pronounced a small part of his text and let his aide say the rest. The church's teaching that all human life -- even embryonic -- must be respected and protected has placed it in opposition to researchers who use stem cells from human embryos, which are then destroyed.

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