Stem-cell research: Legislation provides for ‘destruction of embryos’

Sydney
14 July 2002

School defies terrorism

Pope ‘force for freedom and good’

Vinnies reaches out: a new generation

Abuse allegations ‘devastating’

Caritas renews call for help as southern Africa faces food crisis

Jason scores with ‘no sex before marriage’

‘Return to the scapular’ call for feast day

Medjugorje visionary calls off visit

‘Boundless plains’ to share with refugees? - Spirituality in Pub

Health care ‘not a commodity’

Fr Pat goes back to St Pat’s for jubilee Mass

Queensland search for men to teach

St Vincent’s clocks up 1000

IVF baby farming banned - Govt ‘no’ to sale of eggs

Witchcraft move under fire

Editorial: Tangled web

Letters: Catholicism and the Royal Family

Conversation: Never say never - always hope - Larri Hayhurst, nurse educator

Reflections: Justice: what it means to me

Earthcare - a call to ‘expand our vision’

Opinion: Where young and old share the joy!

Comfort zone

Embryos used to find ‘morning after’ pill

Stem-cell research: Warning of embryo use in human tests

Stem-cell research: Legislation provides for ‘destruction of embryos’

Stem-cell research: ‘Key principle’ at stake

Stem-cell research: Risks to egg and sperm

Resurrection and ‘last things’ in Catechism series

Sing? Yes! Sing-along syndrome? No!

Inspirations: Joseph, 8, gives up toys for Cebu kids

Stem-cell research: Legislation provides for ‘destruction of embryos’

The Do No Harm - Australians for Ethical Medical Research organisation, whose members include scientists and ethicists, says the new federal legislation on stem cells provides for the destruction of human embryos across the widest range of possibilities, including:

• The better understanding of embryonic development and fertilisation;

• The derivation of embryonic stem cells;

• Toxicology studies with live human embryos;

• Testing new drugs on humans rather than animals;

• The examination of gene expression patterns of developing embryos;

• The examination of the effectiveness of new culture media used in artificial reproductive technology (ART) practice;

• Training clinicians in microsurgical ART techniques;

• Improvement in artificial reproductive technologies.

Do No Harm agreed with South Australian bioethicist Dr John Fleming that far more embryos would be used for those reasons than for embryo stem-cell research concerned with treating human ailments.

“Once we accept that some members of the human family may be used as a disposable laboratory resource, it may well be that it is even easier to determine that other members of the human family, such as older embryos and foetuses, can also be treated as a reservoir of human tissue,” the organisation said.

“This bill challenges our deepest moral convictions about the respect due to all members of the human family. If passed Australia will become a very different society from the one we have always been.

“This ought to cause serious concern in the community.”

The Australian Family Association says that parliamentary decisions to go down the path of embryonic stem-cell research would be “a sell out to big biotech”.

“The bill before Parliament has done little to accommodate the concerns of many ethicists and scientists, but it has gone a long way to placate the profit-driven interests of Big Biotech,” it said.