Archbishop, Bracks clash on embryos

Sydney
7 April 2002

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Archbishop, Bracks clash on embryos

Archbishop Denis Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne, has condemned a call by the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, for national laws permitting stem-cell research on spare IVF embryos.

Now the Premier says he will meet Archbishop Hart in an attempt to resolve their differences, claiming that his position has been "misread and misjudged by some people in the Catholic Church.

The archbishop's criticism of Mr Bracks followed a statement by the Premier that research on "disused embryos" should be allowed, but not the creation of embryos for the purpose of research.

Mr Bracks also fore shadowed legislation to overturn the ban on destroying embryos in Victoria.

And, he said, he would support moves at the Council of Australian Governments meeting to allow the use of spare IVF embryos for stem-cell research.

Archbishop Hart said many Victorians would regard permitting such research as "a terrible assault on life at its earliest moments of existence.

"Just because someone is very young, or unwanted, or 'going to die soon anyway' is no excuse for killing them, let alone cannibalising them for spare parts while still alive," the archbishop said.

"Human embryos are more than ordinary cells. They are the beginning of life, the first page of someone's biography."

Mr Bracks' comments came in the wake of threats from Prof Alan Trounson, of the Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash University, that scientists from his team would move to NSW if embryo stem-cell research was allowed there but not in Victoria.

NSW Premier Bob Carr has said he will legislate to allow research on embryos in NSW if the Federal Govern ment imposed a ban on embryo stem-cell research.

The Council of Australian Governments meeting was expected last week to est ablish national legislation covering the use of "spare embryos".

Embryos are used to harvest stem cells, which have the capacity to grow into other organs or tissue; this has led to speculation that the research will lead to cures for spinal cord injuries, diabetes and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

But stem cells have also been obtained from the brains of adult mice.

Many ethicists say this is the more acceptable route for research to follow.