With a press release issued on 14 June, the German Bishops’ Conference, through its secretary, Father Hans Langendörfer, has “forcefully rejected” the statements of Chancellor Schröder on research on embryonal stem cells. “The Chancellor’s mention of the eventuality of research being conducted on embryonal stem cells cannot disguise the fact that fundamental and inalienable values that cannot be subjected to re-examination are here at stake. The inviolability of human dignity and the right to life are due to each embryo from the moment of conception”, says the press release. Father Langendörfer emphasises that research on embryonal stem cells, which involves the killing of the embryos in question, is incompatible “with the biblical image of the person”. “This was taken into account by the German legislator”, he points out, “which punishes both the production of embryos for research purposes, and the ‘utilization’ of so-called ‘surplus’ embryos in the procedure for obtaining stem cells. This ban, which conforms to constitutional principles, must remain”. “The most recent experiments in cloning, conducted by South Korea, must represent a warning of the fact that research on embryonal stem cells has ‘burst its banks’ and that researchers are now practising methods that are ethically unacceptable and incompatible with the Christian image of the person”.
