Vatican official, U.S. cardinal criticize South Korean human cloning

Published: 2004-02-13

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first successful cloning of human embryos to provide stem cells marks a dangerous step toward the unregulated commercialization of human life, said a leading Vatican official. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said Feb. 12 that the mining of stem cells from embryos, which are then discarded, was a procedure "full of illicit acts." In the United States, Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore said the creation and destruction of human embryos "is a sign of moral regress." "Seldom have researchers done so much harm to so many fellow humans, with so little justification," he said. The church leaders were reacting to news that scientists in South Korea had cloned 30 human embryos and grown them to the stage where they produce stem cells. The stem cells, which have the ability to turn into any cell in the body, were then extracted and the embryos destroyed. The scientists said they were trying to patent their technique and the stem cells produced. It was considered a major step toward so-called "therapeutic" cloning, which is undertaken not to create a human being but to produce stem cells that can be used to grow replacement tissue in treating disease. The church teaches that human cloning is wrong and that any destruction of human embryos violates the right to life of the weakest human beings.

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