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December 10, 2003
A Worldwide Stem Cell Ban?
A group of Catholic countries, encouraged
by the United States, is attempting to ban stem cell research around
the world.
By Scott Anderson
Last week, a coalition of predominantly Catholic countries,
headed by Costa Rica and with the blessing of the United States,
again attempted to force a resolution in the UN to completely ban
stem-cell therapies around the world.
In early November -- and again on Tuesday -- the UN
wisely decided to put this resolution on hold, during which time
scientists could have a chance to prove the efficacy (or not) of
stem-cell treatments.
How many people could be affected by a ban on stem
cell research? The American Heart Association stated in June 2000
that over 100 million Americans could benefit from stem-cell therapy.
That was before a write-in campaign launched by the Catholic church
permanently silenced them on the subject. Similarly, the Red Cross
and the American Cancer Society both backed off ambitious stem-cell
projects after the Catholic church threatened to withhold donations.
The church is adamant about stopping this medical
breakthrough based on a faulty understanding of the science. It
believes that a petri dish containing tissue cloned from a patient
is a full-fledged human being, and that injecting these cells is
tantamount to abortion.
This is not a point of view embraced by most scientists,
who tend to view it as a new way of creating tissue cultures that
may have extraordinary rejuvenating power.
None of the things that we normally associate with
creating babies are involved: there is no sperm, there is no conception,
there is no womb, there is no mixing of genes. The last part is
important, because the tissue must be genetically identical to the
patient to avoid rejection. So, since no new humans are either created
or destroyed, is this abortion?
No, and in a few dozen years, the church will, as
it always does, change its mind.
Lest you think they the church can't stop medical
progress, bear in mind that in 1699, the Vatican condemned blood
transfusions, and managed to halt the procedure for 150 years. Reaching
back even farther, the church banned the dissection of cadavers
for hundreds of years, claiming that direct knowledge of the human
body would cheapen humanity.
Similarly, the church was against human surgery, organ
transplants, bone-marrow transplants, in-vitro fertilization and
dozens of other now commonly-accepted medical practices. On each
of these issues, once the amazing results of the science were understood,
the church finally relented.
Outside of a few fundamentalist churches (small but
impressively organized), the only major religion to rabidly oppose
stem-cell therapy research is Catholicism. Presbyterians, Jews,
Episcopalians, the Church of Scotland, Moslems and Buddhists, among
many others, all basically agree that stem-cell research should
continue with appropriate oversight. They also agree that human
reproductive cloning should be banned, but outside of Catholicism,
no mainstream religion conflates human cloning with stem-cell research.
The Catholics in America have been deeply divided
by the Vatican's take on this point. The church seems coldhearted
and inflexible when it comes to those suffering from Parkinson's,
Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease, who might be
cured with stem-cell therapy.
When I talk with my Catholic friends, I find a mix
of feelings. A very few fervently agree with all church pronouncements,
no matter what. But most are conflicted. On the one hand, they love
their church. But many feel hopeless. Some are even considering
leaving the church. Many have loved ones who are sick with one of
the incurable diseases that stem cells promise to treat. They don't
understand why their church condemns their only hope for a cure.
Instead of leaving, I would urge members of the church
to stand up and make their voices heard. With a little help from
the grassroots, perhaps the Vatican can be encouraged to hear a
message of hope for this wonderful science, not condemnation.
For those of us who are not Catholic, the question
we should be asking our leaders is: When did we give the Vatican
the right to veto American research? Why are we obeying a well-meaning
but misguided church mandate to stop the most promising research
in the history of medicine? If the Catholics don't want to use stem
cells, so be it. But how did they get to decide the issue for my
Episcopalian mother?
These are not small questions. There are -- literally
-- millions of lives in the balance.
Copyright © 2003 by Scott Anderson
For reprint rights, email the author:
Scott_Anderson@ScienceForPeople.com
Here are some other suggested readings on stem cells:
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