“In a civilized country like Europe it is immoral, unjust and degrading that human beings can be traded. Stem cells can be obtained from sources other than the embryos used in therapy”, said Paul Tully, spokesman of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, one of the most important organizations of the Pro-Life Movement in the UK. In making this statement, Tully condemned in particular the trade in oocytes (or eggs cells before maturation) between Great Britain and Romania. The commercial deal signed between the Bridge Centre in London and the Romanian clinic “Global Art” provides for the importation of Romanian oocytes not only for artificial fertilization but also for the production of human embryos through cloning. The trade has continued for years, although Great Britain is violating with this accord a directive of the European Parliament issued in 2003. For the time being the trade has been suspended by the Human Fertilization and Embriology Authority, the British government agency that regulates this field. It has asked the Romanian clinic to release more information to the donors, but the trade could resume in the future. According to Tully, “treating human beings as laboratory material that can be bought, sold and given away violates fundamental human rights and is a grave assault on the dignity of human beings”. “Science is faced by many challenges in its own future”, he added, “and can find alternatives to the immoral traffic in human embryos”.
