Cardinal welcomes results saying Britain opposes animal-human embryos

Published: 2008-04-03

LONDON (CNS) -- A Scottish cardinal welcomed the results of an opinion poll that suggests the British public opposes the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos for experimentation. Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, president of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said he was "delighted" that a majority of people were against the Human Embryology and Fertilization Bill. In an April 3 statement, he said he hoped Prime Minister Gordon Brown would "take notice of the result and reconsider the need for this legislation." "It is time the government focused its attention on supporting and funding stem-cell research which is both ethical and effective," Cardinal O'Brien said. "Our government deliberately ignored this proven research in favor of the morally bankrupt blind alley of embryo destruction," he added. "As a result of such willful ignorance on the part of (the) government we risk losing an entire generation of our top scientific minds to other countries who see the potential in their work and support it where we fail." The poll, conducted by Opinion Research Business on behalf of the Scottish Catholic Media Office, asked how strongly people opposed or supported such research. Of the 1,000 people interviewed, 67 percent opposed -- and 51 percent of those strongly opposed -- any moves to create hybrid embryos.

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