“A heavy defeat for the protection of embryos in Europe”: in a release sent out yesterday, the German Bishops Conference judged the decision taken by the EU Competitiveness Council on the VII European Framework Program for Research which also covers research into embryos. “Research into embryo stem cells, which involves the killing of human lives highlight the German bishops -, could receive even more EU funds”. Yesterday’s decision is therefore “a horrible sign of the current state of the protection of human life in Europe: the right to live and an unlimited protection of human life, from its conception, are not entirely guaranteed”. In this way, goes on the release, “the interest of research is regarded as more important than the dignity and right to live of human embryos. So German funds too will be used for a type of research that is prohibited in Germany by the applicable laws and that involves the killing of human lives”. According to the German bishops, the decision “is even more blameworthy since there are alternatives to research into embryo stem cells: an ethically-unexceptionable research into the so-called adult stem cells”. Finally, the Bishops Conference regrets “the failure of the initiatives for a more restrictive solution, which would have strengthened the protection of human embryos in Europe”.
