 |
 |
 |
 |
Q:I am currently teaching a class on morals and ethics to high schoolers. We were discussing the topic of cloning. I know the Church teaches that cloning of human beings is immoral but the topic of cloning of body parts came up. (i.e. cloning a finger to replace a missing one or cloning a liver to replace a malfunctioning one.) What does the Church teach on this if adult stem cells are used (not embryos). Also could you tell me where I might find some documentation?
(Holly)
Dear Holly:
You are right when you say that the Church is opposed to what is called reproductive cloning: that is, the cloning of human beings to full term and birth, a view which is shared by most of the world's scientific community. You are also right when you seem to suggest that the Church is likewise opposed to the cloning of embryos from which stem cells can be extracted for therapeutic purposes.
As explained in answer to Matthew's question on stem-cell research (see elsewhere on our site), obtaining stem cells from the human embryo destroys the embryo, and therefore the Church opposes the harvesting of embryonic stem cells on the grounds that in doing so we are killing a human being in the early stages of development; in effect, aborting a child. Research is prohibited by the Church in such cases because it involves "acts that are in themselves contrary to the dignity of persons and to the moral law." (Catechism: 2295)
Reproductive cloning extends this affront to the moral law by actually creating the embryos from which the stem cells are to be extracted. In a process known as nuclear transfer, the nucleus of a donor cell is inserted into an egg cell from which the nucleus has been removed. Cell division is then stimulated by use of chemicals or by mild electric shock to produce the growing embryo. After a few days, in order to gain access to the stem cells, the embryo cell mass is broken open, resulting in the death of the embryo. Not only is the killing of the embryo a serious violation of the moral law, but asexual human reproduction is also regarded by the Church as morally unacceptable. As stated in the 1987 Vatican document 'Donum Vitae':
" Under the moral aspect, procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouses' union...Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person."
Most of the attention in the media has been focused on stem-cell research using human embryos. This situation came about because some medical scientists have successfully promoted the notion, so far not supported by research, that embryonic stem cells have greater versatility, and are therefore more valuable than adult stem cells. In addition, this lobby for the right to use embryos seems partly driven by the very lucrative commercial potential of discoveries in the field of biotechnology. Lost in the publicity and controversy over embryonic stem cells is the fact that experiments to date using such cells have been a failure. As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine (March 8, 2001), the implanting of fetal cells into the brains of some Parkinson's patients provided no benefit, and in a few cases produced some unfortunate side effects.
The media focus on embryonic stem cells has tended to obscure the research of some top scientists who have discovered the merits of using adult, rather than embryonic stem cells .One such group, which goes under the title of 'Do No Harm', is a coalition of reseachers, bioethicists and other professionals dedicated to promoting health care research that will 'do no harm' to human life. In their recent brief to the American government, they wrote as follows:
"An impressive volume of scientific literature attests to the fact that human adult stem cells - unlike human embryonic stem cells - are currently being used successfully in clinical trials to combat many of the very diseases that embryonic stem cells only prospectively promise to treat."
Indeed, the group's website documents how adult stem cells have already proved beneficial in the treatment of six different cancers, plus anemia, stroke, corneal scarring, bone deformity, gene therapy and autoimmune diseases.
All of this might seem a very long preamble to the answering of your question, but it is extremely important to put the whole issue of biotechnology in perspective. There are some around who would have you believe that we already have all these wonderful cures just waiting to be unveiled, hindered only by religious 'stick-in-the-muds' like the Catholic Church, when in fact cloning technology is in its infancy, and even many non-religious scientists are describing the results of certain cloning experiments as a "gallery of horrors".
The successful cloning of a complete human organ is considered, by the American company at the forefront of such research, to be ten years away, though many scientists believe this to be an underestimate of the necessary research time. As for the successful cloning of a human digit, there do not appear to be time estimates available. Assuming this type of cloning can be done at all - and that is far from a given - and also assuming it can be effected through use of adult stem cells, there would not appear, at first sight, to be any ethical barriers to such a procedure. The Church already approves, within certain guidelines, the transplantation of organs and the use of adult stem cells, so one might conclude that producing an organ for transplantation from a person's own stem cells would be permissible, always assuming the benefits outweighed the risks.
At the moment, though, we have no idea what those risks might be, because the science is untested, and some of the results of cloning experiments gone wrong should give us pause - that "gallery of horrors" again. The scientist David Suzuki, not notably pro-life, recently wrote of the failures in cloning that "perhaps there is a biological requirement for mammals to be produced through sexual reproduction", and one might want to apply his remarks to cloning in general. We must also take into consideration the possible side effects certain procedures, such as attaching a finger produced by a stem cell, might have on the personhood of the recipient. As the late Pope John Paul II said when addressing a group of scientists on xenotransplantation, for a procedure to be licit (that is, lawful in the eyes of the Church), "it must not impair the integrity of the psychological or genetic identity of the person receiving it."
As for the documentation you seek, it might be a good idea to read the entire document "Donum Vitae' referred to above. If you type the name into your favourite Internet search engine, you will find there are a number of websites which contain the full text. The group known as 'Do No Harm' has a website (www.stemcellresearch.org) packed with useful information. Also, at the Canadian bishops' site (www.cccb.ca), you will find a group known as the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), and you will be able to access the many public statements and submissions to government made by COLF on life issues. In addition, the Canadian pro-life website LifesiteNews (www.lifesitenews.com) is packed with up-to-date information and is a wonderful resource. The United States bishops' site, too, (www.nccbuscc.org) has an excellent pro-life section, which deals with the issues of cloning and stem-cell research. If you subscribe to a pro-life newpaper or magazine, you will be kept up-to-date with current news on all life issues, including cloning and stem-cell research. Two examples that come to mind are the newspaper 'The Interim', published out of Toronto, and the magazine 'Human Life Review', published in New York City.
God bless,
Father Norbert