” “The funding of the tests on embryo stem cells produced for in vitro fertilisation but not implanted is the sign that, "in the still distant hope of curing some diseases, now they deem it fit to destroy human embryos in order to have stem cells at their disposal". This is the way father Marco Doldi, a theologian and bioethics expert, censures, in today’s SIR leading article, the decision taken by the EU Parliament (284 votes for, 249 votes against) to financially back up research into embryo stem cells. Even if, according to the theologian, there are other ways "to make medicine progress, and no human life, no matter how small or irrelevant, should be sacrificed", today "we have to be realistical and reckon with powerful and often hidden realities". First and foremost, "the economic factor". "The pharmaceutical manufacturers states the expert will benefit from the decision taken in Strasbourg, because they will be able to freely conduct research into embryo patents that will bring mind-boggling profits to the pharmaceutical industry". Then, there is "the myth of progress", so that "before the countless diseases that could hypothetically be cured, before the promise of a better quality of living and a longer life, many people are captivated".
