In a joint release published yesterday, the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of Germany reasserted their opposition to the patenting of stem cells. The release was issued in the run-up to the forthcoming decision of the Court of Appeal of the European Patent Office about the possibility of patenting human embryo stem cells and derivative cellular lines. According to Karl Jüsten, director of the German Bishops Commission, "this controversial registration of patents paves the way to a monopoly, which would turn life into an exclusive commodity and would commercially exploit it. The human body and its parts cannot be turned into commodities and be traded”. Because of its impact on industry and research in Europe, the delegate of the Council of the German Evangelical Church (Ekd), Stephan Reimers, asked to reflect on the "ethical-moral objections against the benefit of registering patents for humanity”. Finally, both delegates of the Churches pointed out that a patent on human stem cells would be in "glaring contrast with the European Agreement on Patents, the Directive on Bio-Patents, and the 2005 Resolution of the European Parliament on biotechnological inventions”.
