LIFE DIGEST: Britain to weigh embryo creation for body parts
- Apr 28, 2009 -
British couples could create embryos to establish body-repair kits for their other children and themselves, if a government agency approves the proposal this summer.
Also in this edition: Oklahoma’s Henry vetoes embryonic stem cell ban, Fake abortion doctor sentenced to six years, and Dominican Republic protects unborn.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is scheduled to discuss in July a plan to permit in vitro fertilization (IVF) not just for reproductive purposes but for the storage of human embryos that can be used to grow replacement body parts and organs or to treat diseases, according to the Daily Mail.
Under such a policy, parents could have stem cells harvested from their own children while they are in an embryonic state in order to help their born children and themselves medically, though it would come at the expense of those embryos. As a result, doctors could produce customized therapies for the parents and siblings of these embryos, the Daily Mail reported.
Extracting stem cells from an embryo results in the destruction of the days-old human being.
HFEA approval will result in the proposal becoming British policy, according to the newspaper.
Since “this is Brave New Britain, it is easy to predict the answer,” bioethics specialist Wesley Smith said of the HFEA’s consideration of the plan.
“This is figurative cannibalism, treating nascent human life as if it were a prize cattle herd or copper mine,” Smith wrote on his weblog. “But if you don’t believe in human exceptionalism and its concomitant principle of the sanctity/equality of human life, why not use human beings as we do other natural resources?
“And it won’t stop with embryos,” he said. “Once the principle is accepted that living human beings can be objectified as a product, there is no way that enterprise will be limited to the earliest humans. . . . [F]etal farming is on the table and the already born weak and vulnerable are being looked upon by some as sources of organs and subjects for medical experimentation.”
Embryos produced through IVF can be stored for up to five years for purposes of reproduction under Britain’s current policy. The law will change in October to allow embryo storage for 55 years instead of five, according to the Daily Mail.
Oklahoma’s Henry vetoes embryonic stem cell ban
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has succeeded in having his veto of a prohibition on stem cell research that destroys embryos upheld by the state Senate.
The Senate voted 26-19 April 23 to override Henry’s veto, which he issued April 22, according to The Daily Oklahoman. The effort was six votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override. The failure in the Senate to overturn the veto followed the House of Representatives’ successful effort. The House voted 68-26 for the override.
Supporters of the ban lost votes in both houses between its original passage and the override effort. Earlier in the legislative session, the Senate voted 38-9 for the bill, while the House approved it with an 82-6 roll call, The Oklahoman reported.
Henry, a Democrat, denied it was a pro-life issue, as portrayed by the ban’s supporters, and said misleading information was behind support for the legislation.
“There are all kinds of misconceptions and misinformation about this issue, and that’s regrettable,” Henry said in announcing his veto. “It’s important to point out that this legislation does nothing to stop an abortion or save a single life, but it does threaten life-saving research and unjustly criminalizes scientists who perform important work. . . . It would be morally repugnant to me to sign legislation outlawing scientific research that saves lives.”
Embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), however, is destructive for the days-old embryo who is the donor. Extracting stem cells kills the tiny human being. In addition, ESCR has yet to produce any treatments in human beings.
Americans United for Life (AUL), a Chicago-based pro-life, legal organization, said the misinformation on the bill came from its opponents.
“This important legislation was the victim of a disinformation campaign designed to scare the public and prevent them from understanding its true purpose: saving human lives,” said Daniel McConchie, AUL’s vice president of government affairs. “We look forward to educating the people of Oklahoma about why this legislation is vital to the state.”
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Todd Lamb of Edmond, said, according to The Oklahoman, “This is about life, and it’s about public policy and the sanctity of life being protected in public policy.”
Many scientists have promoted ESCR, because stem cells from embryos are pluripotent, meaning they can transform into any cell or tissue in the body. ESCR, however, not only has failed to provide any therapies for human subjects, but it has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals.
In contrast, stem cells from non-embryonic, or adult, sources have produced therapies for at least 73 ailments in human beings, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Such results have been achieved even though non-embryonic stem cells are considered multipotent, meaning they can convert into many but not all cells or tissues in the body.
Meanwhile, iPS cells, which are reprogrammed adult skin cells that have the properties of embryonic stem cells and do not harm the donor, have shown great promise in the last 18 months.
Henry is a member of a Southern Baptist congregation, First Baptist Church in Shawnee, Okla.
Fake abortion doctor sentenced to six years
The owner of a Southern California abortion chain who posed as a doctor in order to perform abortions has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
A San Diego Superior Court judge gave Bertha Bugarin, 49, a sentence of six years, eight months April 24, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Bugarin pled guilty in December to practicing medicine without a license and grand theft. She will serve the sentence concurrently with a three-year, four-month sentence from a Los Angeles court for convictions on similar charges, The Union-Tribune reported.
Nine former patients said Bugarin, who operated six clinics, performed surgical or medical procedures on them in February and March 2007, according to the newspaper.
Dominican Republic protects unborn
The unborn child now is protected in the constitution of the Dominican Republic.
Legislators in the Caribbean island country voted 167-32 to revise the constitution to say, “The right to life is inviolable from conception to death.” The April 21 vote constituted a contrast to the efforts of multinational organizations and international abortion rights groups to persuade countries to revoke pro-life laws.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Cloning, Stem-Cell Research, Science, Bioethics