385 EMBRYO EXPERIMENTS

YOUCAT Lesson 385

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

385  Can experiments be performed on living embryos and embryonic stem cells?

No.  Embryos are human beings, because human life begins with the fusion of a sperm cell and an egg.  [2275, 2323]

Sherry (resting) was born with a gene that can cause Huntington Disease.  I first met Sherry when she was 16 years old.  Sherry then could scarcely hold a fork to feed herself though she came to the table to eat with the family.  Knowing her fate, at age 23, she gave up her love of a courting boyfriend to accept death on its terms.  In the photo, a year before Sherry’s death, her grandmother Eunice speaks to her at a health care center in Jackson, Michigan.  Eunice visited Sherry daily.  Photo by Don L. Bragg. ….. 385

Regarding embryos as biological material, “producing” them and then “using” their stem cells for purposes of research is absolutely immoral and falls under the commandment “You shall not kill.”  Research on adult stem cells is a different matter, since they cannot develop into human beings.  Medical interventions on an embryo are justifiable only if they are made with the intention of healing, if the life and unimpaired development of the child are assured, and if the risks involved are not disproportionately great.  292

“The diagnosis of disability in the unborn child cannot be a reason for abortion, because life with such a disability is also desired and appreciated by God, and here on earth no one can ever be sure that he or she will live without physical or spiritual limitations.”  Pope Benedict XVIl, September 28, 2006

 [2275, 2323]

 Abortion

 2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,3.)⁸³ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,5.)⁸⁴ –CCC

 "Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,6.)⁸⁵ which are unique and unrepeatable. ---CCC

 IN BRIEF

2323 Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being. --CCC