Aborted human fetal tissue used in research

Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life (MCCL) report  that brains from aborted unborn babies are being used in laboratory experiments — legally

The report says that use of fetal remains from abortion for research, continues in U.S. laboratories. The dehumanization of nascent human life, applied to human embryos in order to justify the exploitation of embryonic stem cells, also is being applied to the harvesting of brain tissue from more developed unborn babies with functioning brains.

The latest experiment, a clinical trial approved by the Food and Drug Administration, uses brain tissue from aborted unborn babies to treat macular degeneration. StemCells Inc. will inject fetal brain stem cells into the eyes of up to 16 patients to study the cells’ effect on vision. 

In its press release announcing the clinical trial, StemCells Inc. was careful to refer to the fetal brain material as “purified human neural stem cell product” or HuCNS-SC cells, rather than “fresh human fetal brain tissue,” a description which can be found elsewhere on its website.

“StemCells Inc. is not using embryonic stem cells. A five-day-old human being at the embryonic stage does not have a brain, but a fetus at 10 or 20 weeks of development with visible fingers, toes and ears has a functioning brain,” said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. “Developing human beings in the womb are treated simply as raw material for laboratory experimentation by StemCells Inc. and other companies seeking to monetize aborted unborn children.” 

The misleadingly-named Birth Defects Research Laboratory at the University of Washington in Seattle is known within the research community as a top government distributor of fetal tissue. The lab has been sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for over four decades, according to a report in WORLD Magazine. The Puget sound Business Journal stated that the lab "in 2009 filled more than 4,400 requests for fetal tissue and cell lines."

WORLD reports that the Seattle facility has retrieved the products of 22,000 pregnancies to date; the lab collects aborted fetuses from abortion centers across the country.

Experimental fetal stem cell treatments have yielded horrific results. Dr. David Prentice, an internationally recognized expert on stem cells and cloning, cites trials in which fetal stem cells have been used unsuccessfully to treat Parkinson’s disease. The New York Times called the outcome of a 2001 study “devastating” after “the patients writhed and jerked uncontrollably.” Another large clinical trial published in 2003 showed similar results. 

“The use of morally illicit material in the biomedical industry violates the ‘do no harm’ principle that has governed the practice of medicine for millennia,” Fischbach said. “Adult stem cells offer the ethical and efficacious alternative. Unborn babies deserve dignity, not dissection and destruction.”

It is not known whether the University of Minnesota (U of M) is experimenting with material from aborted fetuses, but it does use stem cells extracted from human embryos, which are killed in the process. Minnesota’s Human Conceptus Statute 145.422 prohibits the use of a living human conceptus for any type of research or experimentation.

The report continues:

“MCCL calls upon the U of M to pledge not to purchase or use fetal material in its research,” Fischbach added. “Such gruesome work violates human dignity and has no place in our state-funded institutions.”

MCCL is Minnesota’s oldest and largest pro-life organization with more than 70,000 member families and 240 chapters across the state.

Abortion "resolves nothing," Pope Benedict XVI the Pontifical Academy for Life Feb. 26.

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday last gave what can be described as his most comprehensive defence of unborn life and the issues surrounding it when spoke to the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life who had participated in their 17th general assembly.

Pope Benedict in his wide ranging address dealt with the moral conscience and its implications in the many areas relating to protection of life. Pope Benedict referenced  among other issues post abortion syndrome, the importance of the conscientious objection of doctors and other medical personnel to abortion, the responsibility of fathers, the importance of ethical research and the wonderful mercy of God.  

 

The following is an unofficial translation of  Pope Benedict's address 

Sisters, Esteemed Cardinals,  Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood, Dear Brothers and Sisters I receive you with joy on the occasion of the annual assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life. I greet, in particular, the president, Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, and I thank him for his courteous words. I address my cordial welcome to each one of you.

In the activities of these days you addressed topics of current importance, which question contemporary society profoundly and challenge it to find answers that are appropriate for the good of the human person. Post-abortion syndrome -- the serious psychological difficulties often felt by women who have taken recourse to voluntary abortion -- reveals the irrepressible voice of the moral conscience, and the grave wound it suffers each time that human action betrays the person’s innate vocation to good, and of which he gives witness.

It would be useful also in this reflection to focus attention on the conscience, at times blurred, of the fathers of the children, who often abandon pregnant w om en. The moral conscience -- teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church -- "is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right" (No. 1778).

It is, in fact, the duty of the moral conscience to discern good from evil in the different situations of existence, in order that, on the basis of this judgment, the human being can orient himself towards the good. Many would like to deny the existence of the moral conscience in man, reducing its voice to the result of external conditioning or to a purely emotive phenomenon, and it is important to affirm that the moral quality of human action is not an extrinsic value or even optional and it is not even a prerogative of Christians or believers, but common to every human being. In the moral conscience, God speaks to each one and invites him to defend human life at all times. In this personal bond with the Creator lies the profound dignity of the moral conscience and the reason for its inviolability.

Fulfilled in the conscience of every man -- intelligence, emotive nature, will -- is his vocation to the good, so that the choice of good or evil in the concrete situations of existence ends by marking the human person profoundly in each expression of his being. The whole man, in fact, is wounded when his behavior is contrary to the dictate of his own conscience.

However, even when man rejects the true and the good that the Creator proposes to him, God does not abandon him, but through the voice of conscience, continues to seek and speak to him, so that he will acknowledge his error and open himself to Divine Mercy capable of healing any wound.

Doctors, in particular, cannot fail to consider important the grave duty to defend against the deception of the conscience of many women who think they will find in abortion the solution to family, economic, social difficulties or to the problems of health of their children. Especially in this last situation, the woman is convinced, often by the doctors themselves, that abortion represents not only a licit moral choice, but that in addition it is a necessary "therapeutic" act to avoid the suffering of the child and of its family and an "unjust" burden to society.

In a cultural background characterized by the eclipse of the meaning of life, in which the common perception of the moral gravity of abortion and of other forms of attempts against human life has been attenuated, exacted from doctors is a special fortitude to continue affirming that abortion does not resolve anything, but that it kills the child, destroys the woman and blinds the conscience of the child's father, often ruining family life.

This duty, however, does not only affect the medical profession or health professionals. It is necessary that the whole of society defend the right to life of the conceived and the true good of the woman, who never, under any circumstance, will be fulfilled in the choice of abortion. In the same way it is necessary -- as has been indicated in your works -- to provide the necessary help to women who sadly have already taken recourse to abortion, and who now experience all its moral and existential tragedy. There are many initiatives, at the diocesan level or through individual volunteer entities, which offer psychological and spiritual support for a complete human recovery. The solidarity of the Christian community cannot give up this type of co-responsibility.

I would like to recall, in this connection, the invitation addressed by the Venerable John Paul II to women who have taken recourse to abortion. "The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life" ("Evangelium Vitae," No. 99).

The moral conscience of researchers and of the whole of society is profoundly involved also in the second topic of your works: the use of umbilical cord banks for clinical and research purposes. Medical-scientific research is a value and, hence, a commitment, not only for researchers but for the whole civil community. The result is the duty to promote ethically valid research on the part of institutions, and the value of the solidarity of individuals in the participation of research directed to promote the common good.

This value, and the necessity of this solidarity, are very well evidenced in the case of the use of stem cells from the umbilical cord. They are important clinical applications and promising research at the scientific level, but for their realization many depend on the generosity, on the donation of blood of the cord at the moment of birth, on the part of the women who have just given birth. Hence, I invite all of you to be promoters of a true and conscious human and Christian solidarity. In this connection, many medical researchers rightly regard with perplexity the growing number of private storage banks of the blood of the cord for exclusive autologous use. Such an option -- as the works of your Assembly demonstrate -- in addition to lacking a real scientific superiority in relation to the donation of the cord, weakens the genuine spirit of solidarity which must constantly animate the search of that common good to which, in the last analysis, science and medical research tend.

Dear brothers and sisters, once again I express my gratitude to the president and to all the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life for the scientific and ethical courage with which you carry out your commitment to the service of the good of the human person. My hope is that you will maintain always alive the spirit of authentic service which makes hearts and minds sensitive to recognize the needs of the men who are our contemporaries. To each one of you and to your loved ones, I impart my heartfelt apostolic blessing.

Pro-Life Billboards

Look out for the extraordinarily striking Youth Defence billboards in various locations around the country.   I couldn’t help but being impressed with the message portrayed on one of these colourful billboards that I saw last weekend.   The message reads:   

YOU.  ME. EVERYBODY. WE’RE ALL JUST GROWN-UP EMBRYOS

and it is accompanied by five photographs of life at different stages from unborn to old age.

The billboards are part of a campaign of public awareness to highlight the need for protection for the human embryo from the moment of conception.   The focus on human embryos comes in advance of government legislation that Minister for Health, Mary Harney, says she will introduce in the coming months – legislation which is expected to attempt to limit the legal protection of embryos outside the womb and to allow for embryonic stem cell research.

Pell funding adult stem cell research

The Sydney Archdiocese is reported to be offering a $100,000 grant to scientists who wish to carry out adult stem cell research. This is a very important gesture by the Catholic Church in Australia, as it makes the point that to be pro-life is not to be anti-science, it is to embrace ethical scientific research and where possible to promote and fund it.

H/T to Father Ray Blake

EU proposal would prefer to use human embryos rather than animals for testing

LifeSiteNews report March 24th that a proposed new directive from the European Commission (EC) will drastically restrict the use of animals in laboratory testing, and certain toxicology tests on animals will be permitted only after alternative methods, including research on tissue taken from human embryos, has proved fruitless, according to a report in the Catholic Herald.

In its coverage of the issue, the Herald quotes a report accompanying the EC directive that says, "The establishment of human embryonic stem cells in 1998 raised hopes in many research areas, including the development of alternatives to animal experiments." The report says that human embryonic research is a "powerful alternative to animal tests."

This is a shocking proposal and yet another instance of the appalling lack of respect for unborn human life in the EU institutions. It was because of appalling anti life decisions such as this that Ireland voted against the Lisbon treaty last year. Animals should never be treated cruelly but to propose that human embryos should be used for research instead is utterly reprehensible.

Considering the serious implications of this proposal we are carrying out further investigation and will report further on it in due course

Embryo Research

As a response to the decision by University College Cork (UCC) to carry out embryo research in Ireland, independent Senator Ronan Mullen published a private members Bill, the stated intention of which was to protect the human embryo. The Bill which was debated in the Irish Senate in November was not well supported and was not put to a vote.

The bill in addition to protecting the human embryo, sought to prohibit research involving the destruction of human embryos including the use of any stem cells derived from the destruction of human embryos. The Bill also sought to prohibit the creation of cloned human embryos or human-animal hybrids, their subsequent destruction in research, or the use of any cells derived from them.

An analysis of the bill prepared by the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute (SCBI) says that despite the stated intentions of the Bill, it does not achieve its goal.

The main problem according to the report is that the Bill, in excluding in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) or diagnostic procedures from the definition of “embryo-destructive research”, provides explicit approval for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) thus placing human embryos at extreme risk, with by far the majority being either discarded, subjected to procedures and processes involving their destruction, or allowed to succumb when unwanted.

The report says that by enacting legislation permitting IVF and ET, this Bill would provide formal approval for ART in general, which cannot be separated from processes and procedures in which human embryos are far from being protected.

Scientists and physicians unite to defend embryonic children as UNESCO committee meets

London, 29 October 2008 - Scientists and physicians from around the world have signed a declaration on human rights for nascent human beings.

The signatories include human-biology research scientists, obstetricians, gynaecologists, professors of a range of disciplines, doctors in general practice and nurses. They have joined together to declare the truth about the human embryo.

The signatories' action is a collective response to this week's meeting in Paris of UNESCO's international bioethics committee, which is discussing whether so-called therapeutic cloning should be banned worldwide.

The declaration among other things, says: "We, in our capacity as members of society who undertake scientific discovery and deliberate on scientific knowledge, herein pledge to respect the inherent rights of human embryos and foetuses during our quest for beneficial knowledge, just as we respect the inviolable and inalienable rights of children and adults."

It also says: "We request the removal of all existing permissions and practices that enable negative discrimination against human embryos and foetuses. Chief among these are the legalisation of abortion and approval for research that harms or destroys human embryos."

The declaration adds: "We declare that every stage in the developmental continuum of human life has the same right to life and right to protection from harm as all others."

The full text and current list of signatories is available here. The declaration remains open there for signing, and scientists and physicians are invited to sign it.

UNESCO is the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee (IBC) was founded in 1993.

Ethical Stem Cell Research

Forest Murmurs reports a breakthrough in adult stem cell research which could result in new treatments for schizophrenia using cells derived from human skin.

The research is being carried out at Dr Ian Wilmut's lab, which famously cloned Dolly the Sheep. Ian Wilmut abandoned work on embryonic stem cells in favour of adult stem cells, but curiously, Professor Hans Schoeler from Germany, was quoted in the article as claiming that "the stage has not yet been reached where pluripotent stem cells can replace embryonic stem cells." This seems a little odd given that adult stem cells are producing results and are already being used to treat many human diseases (bone marrow transplant to treat leukaemia, for example) . The production of human embryonic stem cells is completely unacceptable in that it involves killing human embryos. As far as I am aware there are no clinical trials currently being carried out involving human embryonic stem cells. The use of animal embryonic stem cells in mice proved most unsatisfactory as the undifferentiated cells proved to be incapable of producing any result other than the growth of tumours.