Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Meddling with human embryos in the name of therapy is not only morally reprehensible but highly dangerous

Scientific manipulations of human embryos for "therapeutic" ends is morally reprehensible. Not only is such meddling never right but from a scientific vantage point it is highly dangerous. The results can never be certain nor can their effects be predicted. When man plays God, he always opens a Pandora's box.

More details on these human cloning experiments can be found:

• in the abstract cited by Zenit below and published online 19 May 2005 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1112286] (in Science Express Reports), Abstract : Hwang et al., Patient-Specific Embryonic Stem Cells Derived from Human SCNT Blastocysts, Science 2005 0: 11122861
• and, in a photographic summary of the results of the research from both England and Korea.

Along with the urgings of the Vatican to stop the cloning of human embryos, let's pray that this morally outrageous and indefensible research be stopped globally before irreversible and grievous harm is done.

Date: 2005-05-24

Vatican Official Urges Halt to Cloning Technique

Bishop Sgreccia Responds to Reports From England and Korea

VATICAN CITY, MAY 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Reports of "therapeutic" cloning of embryos in England and South Korea highlight the need for international organizations and political authorities to halt this practice, says a Vatican official.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, sounded that warning Saturday on Vatican Radio.

Echoing a report in The Times newspaper the day before, Vatican Radio explained that a team at Newcastle University, headed by Alison Murdoch and Miodrag Stojkovic, created three blastocysts, namely, the clones of human embryos in the first stage.

Last year, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority of Great Britain authorized the university's team to work on "therapeutic" cloning.

The British scientists worked on 36 ovules donated by 11 women who underwent treatment for in vitro fertilization. The nucleus of each ovule was replaced by a skin stem cell. The ovules were then subjected to an electric discharge to initiate the growth process.

"Custom-made"

From 10 ovules, the researchers were able to create three blastocysts. The attempt to extract stem cells had not yet been successful as clones had not lived for more than five days.

According to the researchers, the experiment was carried out to prove that ovules taken from women who have undergone treatment for in vitro fertilization are adequate to produce clones.

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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 10:07 AM