In its first comprehensive evaluation of modern biotechnologies, the Vatican has denounced most forms of embryonic stem cell research, artificial reproduction and genetic enhancement.
The statement, issued today by the Vatican's doctrinal arm, is not uniformly opposed to human biotechnology: a few of its recommendations, especially those concerning genetic engineering, are surprisingly liberal.
Dignitas Personae Primer
• Quick Recap: The Vatican goes soup-to-nuts on human biotechnology, approving and disapproving various 21st century forms of reproduction, research and treatment. • Original Source: Dignitas Personae, authored by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — the Vatican's in-house think tank. The Pope didn't write the message, but he did approve it.
• Reaction: "I continue to believe that stem cell research is a moral imperative because of the tremendous needs of our patients and our goal in medical research to cure disease and relieve suffering.... Cells are not people and embryos are not people, and my first responsibility as a physician is to patients – not cells in a petri dish." Harvard stem cell pioneer George Daley, from the Washington Post.
• Reaction: "I think we are entering very rapidly into an age of great scientific potential and an age of great scientific peril.... Science is advancing to the point of refashioning human nature and utilizing human beings in a variety of different contexts. I think this should raise grave concerns for any person who believes that humans have intrinsic dignity."
University of Utah neurobiologist Maureen Condic, from the Washington Post.
By insisting that embryos deserve humane treatment from the moment of conception, the Vatican's views still amount — from the perspective of their critics — to sacrificing full-grown people in order to save a few cells.
But even opponents acknowledge that the arguments are carefully reasoned and well-intentioned.
"It's well-written and well-argued," said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan. "There's a lot I disagree with, but I like the fact that they're taking on the latest technologies and trying to wrestle with them. They're at least trying to get to the 21st century here."
The theoretical underpinnings of the statement, entitled Dignitas Personae, were laid out in Pope John Paul II's 1987 encyclical Donum Vitae, or "The Gift of Life." It re-articulated Catholic doctrine for a biotechnological age: life begins at conception, and embryos should be protected as humans.
That concept is reflected in today's document. "The body of a human being, from the very first stages of its existence, can never be reduced to a group of cells," it reads. "The fruit of human generation ... from the moment the zygote has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is morally due to the human being."
This position leaves little room for many of the latest reproductive and therapeutic biotechnologies.
Forms of assisted reproduction that produce leftover embryos, including in-vitro fertilization, are denounced. Prenatal genetic diagnosis, in which embryos are scanned for defects before being implanted, is similarly unacceptable.
These prohibitions, said Caplan, are the least-logical arguments in Dignitas Personae: Natural reproduction already involves embryo loss, and many sterile Catholic couples use assisted reproduction to conceive.
More logical are the implications of embryo personhood for most embryonic stem cell research, in which the harvest of tissue-regenerating cells involves embryo destruction. This is unacceptable, says the Vatican, though a few alternative forms of production might be permissible.
One of these is Altered Nuclear Transfer, in which embryos are engineered to be incapable of further development: if they can't ever become people, then they're not considered fully human. Another alternative is stem cells taken from eggs that divide without fertilization, a process known as parthenogenesis. Left unmentioned is a technique invented by Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technologies, in which a few cells are taken from an embryo without harming it.
These methods are still highly-experimental and may never be developed. The Obama administration is expected to lift President Bush's limitations on embryonic stem cell research, eliminating the need for tricky hacks.
But one alternative that will flourish is induced pluripotency, in which adult cells — even a flake of skin — are coaxed into a near-embryonic state. Pioneered by Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease researcher Shinya Yamanaka — himself troubled by embryo destruction — induced pluripotency is both scientifically promising and ethically uncontroversial.
Stem cell experts say that both embryonic and reprogrammed stem cells are required, but the latter will at least provide an outlet for Catholic researchers heedful of the Vatican's position. And Dignitas Personae, though it condemns researchers who use unethically harvested stem cells, allows people to use life-saving treatments if ethical alternatives don't exist.
Dignitas Personae also strikes a compromise with gene therapy, which is approved for treating diseases, though not for non-therapeutic uses, such as making people smarter or stronger. Even permanent genetic modifications that can be passed to children are acceptable, as long as it's safe.
"That was the most surprising thing in the document," said Caplan. "That commitment to healing is noble."
The least-controversial part of Dignitas Personae may be its introduction, in which researchers and the public are encouraged to ensure that first-world therapies "be made available in areas of the world that are poor and afflicted by disease, so that those who are most in need will receive humanitarian assistance."
This point is often overlooked in moral battles over biotechnology: everyone deserves access. And that's something we can all agree on, Catholic or not.
See Also:
- Skin Cell-to-Stem Cell Pioneer Driven by Ethical Concerns
- Why Arguing Over the Souls of Embryos Isn't a Waste of Time
- McCain Equates Embryos and Fetuses in Stem Cell Statement
- The First Genetically Modified Human Embryo: Advance or Abomination?
- A Beginner's Guide to Muslim Bioethics
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