DETROIT (CNS): As more than 1200 busi-ness, academic and government leaders from 25 countries gathered in Detroit for the World Stem Cell Summit, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit said research that destroys human embryos “deserves our scrutiny and scorn”.
In an opinion piece published on October 3 by the Detroit Free Press, the archbishop said embryonic stem-cell research violated the principles on which the United States was founded and Michigan’s foetal protection law.
“If, indeed, we believe we were ‘created equal’, doesn’t that belief extend to the indefensible living embryo in the petri dish?” he asked, quoting the Declaration of Independence.
“And what of ‘life’ in ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’? First, it must begin.” The October 4-6 summit, organised by the Genetics Policy Institute, brought together scientists, patients, advocates, business executives, investors, educators, policymakers, government officials and ethicists.
Archbishop Vigneron was not a participant in the meeting.
In the article headlined “Even in petri dish, life merits protection”, Archbishop Vigneron said, “I started out as an embryo. So did you and everyone else who shares this planet with us. And there is great significance to this irrefutable fact beyond the shared experience.”
The archbishop said research using umbilical-cord blood cells and adult stem cells “is to be saluted and supported” and has resulted in “a growing number of cures and treatments”.
But he said those doing embryonic stem-cell research would agree “that it is imperative to preserve an embryo because it is a living cell”.
