Part I
Respect for Human
Embryos
Careful reflection on this teaching of the Magisterium and on
the evidence of reason, as mentioned above, enables us to respond to the
numerous moral problems posed by technical interventions upon the human being
in the first phases of his life and upon the processes of his
conception.
- What Respect is Due to the Human Embryo, Taking into Account His Nature
and Identity?
The human being must be respected--as a
person--from the very first instant of his existence.
The
implementation of procedures of artificial fertilization has made possible
various interventions upon embryos and human fetuses. The aims pursued are
of various kinds: diagnostic and therapeutic, scientific and commercial.
From all of this, serious problems arise. Can one speak of a right to
experimentation upon human embryos for the purpose of scientific research?
What norms or laws should be worked out with regard to this matter?
The response to these problems presupposes a detailed reflection on
the nature and specific identity--the word "status" is used--of the human
embryo itself.
At the Second Vatican Council, the Church for her part
presented once again to modern man her constant and certain doctrine
according to which: "Life once conceived, must be protected with the utmost
care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes." More recently the
Charter of the Rights of the Family, published by the Holy See, [23]
confirmed that "Human life must be absolutely respected and protected from
the moment of conception." [24]
This Congregation is aware of the
current debates concerning the beginning of human life, concerning the
individuality of the human being and concerning the identity of the human
person. The Congregation recalls the teachings found in the Declaration on
Procured Abortion: "From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a new life is
begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother: it is rather
the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made
human if it were not human already. To this perpetual evidence ... modern
genetic science brings valuable confirmation. It has demonstrated that, from
the first instant, the program is fixed as to what this living being will
be: a man, this individual-man with his characteristic aspects already well
determined. Right from fertilization is begun the adventure of human life,
and each of its great capacities requires time ... to find its place and to
be in a position to act."[27] This teaching remains valid and is further
confirmed, if confirmation were needed, by recent findings of human
biological science which recognize that in the zygote* resulting from
fertilization the biological identity of a new human individual is already
constituted.
Certainly no experimental datum can be in itself
sufficient to bring us to the recognition of a spiritual soul; nevertheless,
the conclusions of science regarding the human embryo provide a valuable
indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the
moment of the first appearance of a human life: how could a human individual
not be a human person? The Magisterium has not expressly committed itself to
an affirmation of a philosophical nature, but it constantly reaffirms the
moral condemnation of any kind of procured abortion. This teaching has not
been changed and is unchangeable.[26]
Thus the fruit of human
generation, from the first moment of its existence, that is to say from the
moment the zygote has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is
morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality. The
human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of
conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must
be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of
every innocent human being to life. This doctrinal reminder provides the
fundamental criterion for the solution of the various problems posed by the
development of the biomedical sciences in this field: since the embryo must
be treated as a person, it must also be defended in its integrity, tended
and cared for, to the extent possible, in the same way as any other human
being as far as medical assistance is
concerned.
__________________
*The zygote is the cell produced
when the nuclei of the two gametes have
fused.
- Is Prenatal Diagnosis Morally Licit?
If prenatal
diagnosis respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus
and is directed towards its safeguarding or healing as an individual, then
the answer is affirmative.
For prenatal diagnosis makes it possible
to know the condition of the embryo and of the fetus when still in the
mother's womb. It permits, or makes it possible to anticipate earlier and
more effectively, certain therapeutic,medical or surgical
procedures.
Such diagnosis is permissible, with the consent of the
parents after they have been adequately informed, if the methods employed
safeguard the life and integrity of the embryo and the mother, without
subjecting them to disproportionate risks.[27] But this diagnosis is gravely
opposed to the moral law when it is done with the thought of possibly
inducing an abortion depending upon the results: a diagnosis which shows the
existence of a malformation or a hereditary illness must not be the
equivalent of a death- sentence. Thus a woman would be committing a gravely
illicit act if she were to request such a diagnosis with the deliberate
intention of having an abortion should the results confirm the existence of
a malformation or abnormality. The spouse or relatives or anyone else would
similarly be acting in a manner contrary to the moral law if they were to
counsel or impose such a diagnostic procedure on the expectant mother with
the same intention of possibly proceeding to an abortion. So too the
specialist would be guilty of illicit collaboration if, in conducting the
diagnosis and in the communicating its results, he were deliberately to
contribute to establishing or favoring a link between prenatal diagnosis and
abortion.
In conclusion, any directive or program of the civil and
health authorities or of scientific organizations which in any way were to
favor a link between prenatal diagnosis and abortion, or which were to go as
far as directly to induce expectant mothers to submit to prenatal diagnosis
planned for the purpose of eliminating fetuses which are affected by
malformations or which are carriers of hereditary illness, is to be
condemned as a violation of the unborn child's right to life and as an abuse
of the prior rights and duties of the spouses.
- Are Therapeutic Procedures Carried Out on the Human Embryo
Licit?
As with all medical interventions on patients, one
must uphold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which
respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve
disproportionate risks for it but are directed towards its healing, the
improvement of its condition of health, or its individual
survival.
Whatever the type of medical, surgical or other therapy,
the free and informed consent of the parents is required, according to the
deontological rules followed in the case of children. The application of
this moral principle may call for delicate and particular precautions in the
case of embryonic or fetal life.
The legitimacy and criteria of such
procedures have been clearly stated by Pope John Paul II: "A strictly
therapeutic intervention whose explicit objective is the healing of various
maladies such as those stemming from chromosomal defects will, in principle,
be considered desirable, provided it is directed to true promotion of the
personal well-being of the individual without doing harm to his integrity or
worsening his conditions of life. Such an intervention would indeed fall
within the logic of the Christian moral tradition."[28]
- How Is One to Evaluate Morally Research and Experimentation* on Human
Embryos and Fetuses?
Medical research must refrain from
operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not causing
harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother, and on
condition that the parents have given their free and informed consent to the
procedure. It follows that all research, even when limited to the simple
observation of the embryo, would become illicit were it to involve risk to
the embryo's physical integrity or life by reason of the methods used or the
effects induced.
As regards experimentation, and presupposing the
general distinction between experimentation for purposes which are not
directly therapeutic and experimentation which is clearly therapeutic for
the subject himself, in the case in point one must also distinguish between
experimentation carried out on embryos which are still alive and
experimentation carried out on embryos which are dead. If the embryos are
living, whether viable or not, they must be respected just like any other
human person; experimentation on embryos which is not directly therapeutic
is illicit.[29]
No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a
foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings or to society, can
in any way justify experimentation on living human embryos or fetuses,
whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother's womb. The
informed consent ordinarily required for clinical experimentation on adults
cannot be granted by the parents, who may not freely dispose of the physical
integrity or life of the unborn child. Moreover, experimentation on embryos
and fetuses always involves risk, and indeed in most cases it involves the
certain expectation of harm to their physical integrity or even their
death.
To use human embryos or fetuses as the object or instrument of
experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings
having a right to the same respect that is due to the child already born and
to every human person.
The Charter or the Rights of the Family
published by the Holy See affirms: "Respect for the dignity of the human
being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human
embryo."[30] The practice of keeping alive human embryos in vivo or in vitro
for experimental or commercial purposes is totally opposed to human
dignity.
In the case of experimentation that is clearly therapeutic,
namely, when it is a matter of experimental forms of therapy used for the
benefit of the embryo itself in a final attempt to save its life, and in the
absence of other reliable forms of therapy, recourse to drugs or procedures
not yet fully tested can be licit.[31]
The corpses of human embryos
and fetuses, whether they have been deliberately aborted or not, must be
respected just as the remains of other human beings. In particular, they
cannot be subjected to mutilation or to autopsies if their death has not yet
been verified and without the consent of the parents or of the mother.
Furthermore, the moral requirements must be safeguarded that there be no
complicity in deliberate abortion and that the risk of scandal be avoided.
Also, in the case of dead fetuses, as for the corpses of adult persons, all
commercial trafficking must be considered illicit and should be
prohibited.
________________
*Since the terms "research" and
"experimentation" are often used equivalently and ambiguously, it is deemed
necessary to specify the exact meaning given them in this document.
- By research is meant any inductive-deductive process which aims at
promoting the systematic observation of a given phenomenon in the human
field or at verifying a hypothesis arising from previous observations.
- By experimentation is meant any research in which the human being (in
the various stages of his existence: embryo, fetus, child or adult)
represents the object through which or upon which one intends to verify
the effect, at present unknown or not sufficiently known, of a given
treatment (e.g. pharmacological, teratogenic, surgical,
etc.).
- How is One to Evaluate Morally the Use for Research Purposes of Embryos
Obtained by Fertilization 'in Vitro'?
Human embryos
obtained in vitro are human beings and subjects with rights: their dignity
and right to life must be respected from the first moment of their
existence. It is immoral to produce human embryos destined to be exploited
as disposable "biological material."
In the usual practice of in
vitro fertilization, not all of the embryos are transferred to the woman's
body; some are destroyed. Just as the Church condemns induced abortion, so
she also forbids acts against the life of these human beings. It is a duty
to condemn the particular gravity of the voluntary destruction of human
embryos obtained 'in vitro' for the sole purpose of research, either by
means of artificial insemination of by means of "twin fission." By acting in
this way the researcher usurps the place of God; and, even though he may be
unaware of this, he sets himself up as the master of the destiny of others
inasmuch as he arbitrarily chooses whom he will allow to live and whom he
will send to death and kills defenseless human beings.
Methods of
observation or experimentation which damage or impose grave and
disproportionate risks upon embryos obtained in vitro are morally illicit
for the same reasons. Every human being is to be respected for himself, and
cannot be reduced in worth to a pure and simple instrument for the advantage
of others. It is therefore not in conformity with the moral law deliberately
to expose to death human embryos obtained 'in vitro.' In consequence of the
fact that they have been produced in vitro, those embryos which are not
transferred into the body of the mother and are called "spare" are exposed
to an absurd fate, with no possibility of their being offered safe means of
survival which can be licitly pursued.
- What Judgment Should Be Made on Other Procedures of Manipulating Embryos
Connected with the "Techniques of Human
Reproduction"?
Techniques of fertilization in vitro can
open the way to other forms of biological and genetic manipulation of human
embryos, such as attempts or plans for fertilization between human and
animal gametes and the gestation of human embryos in the uterus of animals,
or the hypothesis or project of constructing artificial uteruses for the
human embryos. These procedures are contrary to the human dignity proper to
the embryo, and at the same time they are contrary to the right of every
person to be conceived and to be born within marriage and from marriage.[32]
Also, attempts or hypotheses for obtaining a human being without any
connection with sexuality through "twin fission," cloning or parthenogenesis
are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition
to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal
union.
The freezing of embryos, even when carried out in order to
preserve the life of an embryo--cryopreservation--constitutes an offense
against the respect due to human beings by exposing them to grave risks of
death or harm to their physical integrity and depriving them, at least
temporarily, of maternal shelter and gestation, thus placing them in a
situation in which further offenses and manipulation are
possible.
Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic
inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings
selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. These
manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human beings and
his or her integrity and identity. Therefore in no way can they be justified
on the grounds of possible beneficial consequences for future humanity.[33]
Every person must be respected for himself: in this consists the dignity and
the right of every human being from his or her beginning.
Introduction /
Part
II
__________________________
Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202)
541-3070
June 03, 2003 Copyright © by United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops