New flier produced on stem cell research, human cloning

Published: 2004-08-20

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities has developed a series of questions and answers for Catholics on stem-cell research and human cloning that has been published as a flier for use in parish bulletins. Titled "Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning: Questions and Answers," the flier spells out Catholic teaching on these issues. The church is not opposed to stem cells obtained from adult tissue, umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, muscle, fat, nerves and similar sources, the flier says. The church, though, opposes embryonic stem-cell research "because harvesting these stem cells kills the living human embryo." The flier acknowledges there are some human embryos in frozen storage and likely to be discarded. "In the end we will all die anyway, but that gives no one a right to kill us," it said. "One wrong choice does not justify an additional wrong choice to kill them for research, much less a choice to make taxpayers support such destruction."

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