Vatican Criticizes FDA Approval for Clinical trials using Stem Cells Derived from Human Embryos
The Vatican on 7/31/10 condemned as “unacceptable” the green light given by the FDA to a clinical trial for a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells. ”Despite the efforts that are made to deny it, science continues to show us that the embryo is a human being in the making,” Elio Sgreccia, emeritus head of the Pontifical Academy for life, told Radio Vatican.
Embryos are “sacrificed to extract the stem cells from them,” Sgreccia argued, saying that such a technique “from an ethical point of view can only receive a negative judgment.” GERN announced on 7/30/10, it had been cleared by the FDA to carry out the world’s first clinical trials using stem cells derived from human embryos. It plans to test the therapy on patients paralyzed by spinal-cord injury.
The Catholic Church is opposed to therapeutic research on stem cells drawn from human embryos, although not if the stem cells are drawn from the umbilical cord or parts of the adult body such as the intestine or the retina.(HWM and WSJ)
