{"id":224,"date":"2011-05-16T16:38:12","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T20:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/catholicbychoice\/?p=224"},"modified":"2011-05-16T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2011-05-16T20:38:12","slug":"why-does-the-catholic-church-oppose-stem-cell-research-answer-it-doesnt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/2011\/05\/why-does-the-catholic-church-oppose-stem-cell-research-answer-it-doesnt-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Does the Catholic Church Oppose Stem Cell Research? Answer: It Doesn’t!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How many times have you heard the charge that the Catholic Church opposes “Stem Cell Research”? You know\u00a0 – the insinuation is that this antiquated remnant of the middle ages, run by old men, is somehow impeding human and scientific progress. Well, not only is the claim absolutely untrue from a factual perspective, it is sometimes an example one of the last acceptable prejudices, Anti-Catholic bias.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the worst examples of using language to deceive and hide the truth is the failure to differentiate between human EMBRYONIC stem cell research and ADULT stem cell research.\u00a0 I have concluded that blurring these two very different areas of medical research may be an intentional act on the part of some who are hell bent on killing human embryonic persons for experimentation.<\/p>\n

Oh, I know, some people will gasp when they read such a statement. However, given the amazing breakthroughs occurring with adult stem cell research and the lack of coverage they are receiving, I am left with no alternative. Let’s consider a few examples from just the past month.<\/p>\n

Scientists from the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts announced the results of a study <\/a>this month wherein they used stem cells which they derived from ADULT skin to actually re-grow areas of the retina and improve vision.\u00a0Chinese researchers announced they have taken stem cells derived from ADULT skin and prompted them to become liver cells,<\/a> thereby restoring a liver in a laboratory animal.<\/p>\n

Finally, this month’s prestigious New England Journal of Medicine reports that scientists have discovered that ADULTS have stem cells within their lungs which are capable of being used to regenerate damaged lungs<\/a>. That’s right, they found “undifferentiated human lung stem cells nested in niches in the distal airways. These cells are self-renewing, clonogenic, and multipotent in vitro.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now I ask, have you heard or read about these scientific breakthroughs involving ADULT stem cell research? If not, I suggest it is because the entire “stem cell” discussion is intentionally laden with misinformation and mired in emotional appeals which cloud the scientific facts. Human embryonic stem cell research has produced no substantial results. It is always deadly for the human embryonic person. To the contrary, adult stem cell research harms no-one and has borne great results. Yet, those who support ADULT Stem Cell research and oppose EMBRYONIC stem cell research are accused of trying to impede scientific progress.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself, how many articles have you read about EMBRYONIC stem cell research? How many news reports have insinuated that the Catholic Church is AGAINST all “stem cell research”? The Catholic Church is NOT against all stem cell research. The Catholic Church supports ADULT stem cell research. The Catholic Church properly opposes EMBRYONIC stem cell research. Human EMBRYONIC stem cell research is always deadly. A human embryo is not distinct in kind from a human being, but a human being at an early stage of development. “Extracting” their stem cells is embryonic execution.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1987 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Holy See issued an outstanding instruction entitled “Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation”. Among the many questions answered\u00a0 was, “What Respect is due to the human embryo, taking into account his nature and identity?” The answer: “The human being must be respected – as a person – from the very first instant of his (her) existence.”\u00a0 The entire outstanding document can be read here. <\/a><\/p>\n

In an even more recent instruction entitled the “Dignity of the Person” issued in 2008 <\/a>the Congregation reminded us that science must be placed at the service of the human person, the family and the common good. Any use of new technologies must respect that the human body is never an “it” – but an “I” – some-one who must never be treated as an object, “The body of a human being, from the very first stages of its existence, can never be reduced merely to a group of cells. The embryonic human body develops progressively according to a well defined program with its proper finality, as is apparent in the birth of every baby.”<\/p>\n

This excellent defense of the dignity of life begins with these words, “The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses a great \u201cyes\u201d to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research, which has an ever greater importance in today\u2019s world.” Let’s be honest, the efforts to promote\u00a0the tired old “Catholic Church is against science” argument is often\u00a0 perpetuated by those who simply do not like the Catholic Church’s uncompomising defense of the dignity of all human life, at every age and stage.<\/p>\n

Every one of us is in development at every moment of our lives. In fact we more more humanbecomings than human beings. The “me” who is 56 years old is the same me who was once 26 years old, or six years old, or six days old. At the very moment of conception this unique “me” came into human existence as a human person, a human being. We all know this to be true. No stage of our human life and development is less worthy of respect than another.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ADULT stem cell research has produced extraordinary results and someone doesn’t have to die in the process. The Obama administration’s favoring of the deadly use of embryonic stem cells in spite of the medical science which shows that adult stem cells actually produces results (and their extraction never kills) is morally repugnant and an egregious misuse of federal money. Insisting that the Catholic Church opposes authentic scientific progress which respects the dignity of human life is often\u00a0misinformed. Sometimes it is\u00a0an example of anti-Catholic prejudice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How many times have you heard the charge that the Catholic Church opposes “Stem Cell Research”? You know\u00a0 – the insinuation is that this antiquated remnant of the middle ages, run by old men, is somehow impeding human and scientific progress. Well, not only is the claim absolutely untrue from a factual perspective, it is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,116,130,131,90],"tags":[134,13,133,85,135],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-ethics","category-christian-living","category-morality","category-science","category-social-justice-2","tag-adult-stem-cells","tag-deacon-keith-fournier","tag-embryonic-stem-cells","tag-pro-life","tag-science-2"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Does the Catholic Church Oppose Stem Cell Research? 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He is a widely recognized voice in the Catholic and broader Christian community. He is a member of the Clergy of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. In his fifteenth year of service as an ordained Catholic Deacon, he is currently assigned to St Stephen Martyr Parish in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is also authorized to serve the Liturgy of the Greek Byzantine Melkite Catholic Church. Deacon Fournier and his wife Laurine have been married for 34 years and have five grown children and six grandchildren. Deacon Fournier holds his Bachelors degree in theology and philosophy from the Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA), his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Theology from the John Paul II Institute of the Lateran University (MTS), his Juris Doctor Law Degree Law (JD) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is a PhD candidate in Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America where he is currently writing his Doctoral Dissertation. Deacon Fournier also holds two honorary Doctorates, a Doctor of Laws (L.L.D. 1994,Honoris Causa) from St. Thomas University - Given for pro-life legal contributions, and a Doctor of Divinity Degree (D.D. 2005, Honoris Causa ) from the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church for his contributions to authentic ecumenical efforts toward Christian unity. Attorney Fournier is a constitutional lawyer who appeared as co-counsel in cases before the United States Supreme Court on Pro-Life, Religious Freedom and Pro-family issues. He served as the first Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice for seven years. He then served as a public policy activist for the causes of life, marriage and family issues for a number of years. He has extensive experience in nonprofit and for profit leadership. He has taught at the College level and served in Academic administration. He was a Dean of Students and the Dean of Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. Deacon Fournier is, above all, a communicator. His faith informs his passion to share the fullness of life which he has found in the heart of the Catholic Church. He has written eight books on matters of faith, family and the Christian life and is widely published in the broader Christian community on matters of life, faith, family, and cultural and social issues. He hosted two daily national radio programs, Purpose for Living, and Millennial Moment. He hosted several television series on Christian family and contemporary faith issues on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). He is actively involved in preaching and teaching in the Catholic Church and the broader Christian community. In addition to serving as the Editor in Chief of Catholic Online, Deacon Fournier is the John Paul II Fellow and special counsel for the National Pro-Life Center in Washington, D.C. and is the president of Third Millennium, LLC, a communications and consulting company. He views his role on Beliefnet as an opportunity to share his Catholic Christian faith in what he calls a new areopagus. The areopagus is referred to in the 17th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the Christian New Testament. Also called Mars Hill it was there where the Apostle Paul shared the Christian faith with the early Greeks in their temple.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/author\/deaconfournier"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/catholicbychoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}