VATICAN CITY, OCT 22, 2004 (VIS) - Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke in New York yesterday before the Sixth Committee on Item 150: International Convention Against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings.
Noting that this issue has been on the U.N. agenda since late 2001, he said that "from the beginning, it has appeared clear that, in spite of the agenda item's name, 'International Convention against the reproductive cloning of human beings', the purpose of this exercise has actually been to find a juridical framework that would allow and accelerate the advancement of medical science in the procurement and use of stem cells, and to identify and ban practices that would be disrespectful to human dignity."
"From a purely scientific point of view," he pointed out, "the therapeutic progress already achieved with so-called adult stem cells, namely stem cells from bone marrow, cord blood, and other mature tissues appears very promising. Embryonic cloning, for its part, is as yet far from delivering the progress that its advocates suggest."
The nuncio went on to say that "the distinction that is sometimes drawn between reproductive and therapeutic cloning seems specious. Both involve the same technical cloning process and differ only in goal. Both forms of cloning involve disrespect for the dignity of the human being. In fact, from an ethical and anthropological standpoint, so-called therapeutic cloning, creating human embryos with the intention of destroying them, even if undertaken with the goal of possibly helping sick patients in the future, seems very clearly incompatible with respect for the dignity of the human being, making one human life nothing more than the instrument of another."
"If adult stem cell research has already demonstrated conditions for success and raises no ethical questions," emphasized Archbishop Migliore, "it is only reasonable that it should be pursued before science embarks on cloning embryos as a source for stem cells, something which remains problematic both scientifically and ethically."
The Holy See believes that " the choice is not between science and ethics, but between science that is ethically responsible and science that is not. Thousands of lives have been saved by adult stem cells" and evidence shows that " that adult stem cell transplants are safe, and preliminary results suggest they will be able to help people with Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart damage and dozens of other conditions."
In conclusion, the observer said that the Holy See is "convinced that the subject of human embryonic cloning can be best addressed by a juridical instrument, since the rule of law is essential to the promotion and protection of human life."
VIS - Vatican Information Service
22. oktober 2004