Change That Kills

by Fr. Roger Landry - March 13, 2009

President Obama's Monday executive order to lift President Bush's 2001 ban on using our tax money to fund the destruction of human embryos for embryonic stem cell research is a disgraceful victory of the culture of death over both ethics and science. By the order, the president has forced all American taxpayers to pay for the intentional creation and destruction of fellow human beings. The fact that he enthusiastically signed it in the midst of a national economic meltdown reveals how high the promotion of such morally-depraved and scientifically-fruitless research is in his list of presidential priorities.

In the signing ceremony, the president used religious rhetoric and broad smiles to try to mask the evil he was authorizing. After making references to "moral values," "conscience" and how he was "a person of faith," he stated, "We are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering." True enough. But he didn't mention why we will deny that care to the youngest human beings, who will be killed so that their body parts be harvested for medical research. He claimed to "understand" and "respect" the point of view of those who strongly oppose this research on moral grounds, while at the same time compelling them to fund it. He presented his new moral standard — the will of the "majority of Americans" who have "come to a consensus" — forgetting not only the principles of the Declaration of Independence about the inalienable right to life but also that one of the chief functions of governments is to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. He spoke about "strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse," while at the same time giving the green light to the worst ethical transgression of all, the intentional destruction of innocent human life. He promised that he would ensure that the "government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction," which he called "profoundly wrong" and "dangerous," while opening up not just a door but all the windows to the practice by funding human closing for therapeutic purposes, which is necessary for any future discoveries through embryonic stem cell research to be useful to individuals; in fact, he is mandating that all human clones scientists create be killed at the embryonic stage, which is even more evil than creating them in the first place. Finally, he said he wanted to ensure that "we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology," while ignoring the fact that embryonic stem cell research has never produced a single human treatment in the 25 years it has been done and while pretending that his decision was not based on an ideology that believes that smallest, youngest members of the human race can be killed to serve the whims and purposes of the older and larger ones.

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, the chairman of the Pro-Life Activities Committee of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, was quick to condemn the President's action: "President Obama's new executive order on embryonic stem cell research is a sad victory of politics over science and ethics. This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested. It also disregards the values of millions of American taxpayers who oppose research that requires taking human life. Finally, it ignores the fact that ethically sound means for advancing stem cell science and medical treatments are readily available and in need of increased support."

Cardinal Rigali noted that by his decision President Obama had dismissed the January 16 letter sent to him by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the President of the U.S. Bishops' Conference. In it, Cardinal George stated three reasons why embryonic stem cell research is "especially pointless" at this time. "'First," Cardinal George wrote, "basic research in the capabilities of embryonic stem cells can be and is being pursued using the currently eligible cell lines as well as the hundreds of lines produced with nonfederal funds since 2001. Second, recent startling advances in reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells — hailed by the journal Science as the scientific breakthrough of the year — are said by many scientists to be making embryonic stem cells irrelevant to medical progress. Third, adult and cord blood stem cells are now known to have great versatility, and are increasingly being used to reverse serious illnesses and even help rebuild damaged organs. To divert scarce funds away from these promising avenues for research and treatment toward the avenue that is most morally controversial as well as most medically speculative would be a sad victory of politics over science," no matter how much the President wants to claim his action is a victory of science over political "ideology."

Last June, the U.S. Bishops released a statement "On Embryonic Stem-cell Research" that, anticipating perhaps what might occur should Obama win the upcoming election, prophetically and cogently addressed arguments people erroneously advance in favor of this unethical science. It's important for all people, especially Catholics, to understand these arguments and help others, including the president, understand them.

"Some researchers, ethicists, and policy makers claim that we may directly kill innocent embryonic human beings as if they were mere objects of research — and even that we should make taxpayers complicit in such killing through use of public funds," the statement said. Despite the fact that "almost everyone agrees with the principle that individuals and governments should not attack the lives of innocent human beings … several arguments have been used to justify destroying human embryos to obtain stem cells. It has been argued that (1) any harm done in this case is outweighed by the potential benefits; (2) what is destroyed is not a human life, or at least not a human being with fundamental human rights; and (3) dissecting human embryos for their cells should not be seen as involving a loss of embryonic life." The bishops then comment briefly in response to all three.

First, they criticize the false utilitarian assumption that we can kill some human beings to help others. "The same ethic that justifies taking some lives to help the patient with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease today can be used to sacrifice that very patient tomorrow, if his or her survival is viewed as disadvantaging other human beings considered more deserving or productive."

Second, against those who claim the embryo is not human or the subject of human rights, they say that all scientists agree that the embryo is a "distinct member of the species Homo sapiens, who develops toward maturity by directing his or her own integrated organic functioning. … Just as each of us was once an adolescent, a child, a newborn infant, and a child in the womb, each of us was once an embryo." Fundamental human rights, they continued, cannot be based on size or mental or physical abilities, because to do that is to deny human dignity. "If fundamental rights such as the right to life are based on abilities or qualities that can appear or disappear, grow or diminish, and be greater or lesser in different human beings, then there are no inherent human rights, no true human equality, only privileges for the strong."

Finally, in response to those who say that we're just killing "spare" or "unwanted" embryos destined to die anyway, the bishops forcefully state, "This argument is simply invalid. Ultimately each of us will die, but that gives no one a right to kill us. Our society does not permit lethal experiments on terminally ill patients or condemned prisoners on the pretext that they will soon die anyway. Likewise, the fact that an embryonic human being is at risk of being abandoned by his or her parents gives no individual or government a right to directly kill that human being first."

It's obvious that President Obama has ignored the sound ethical advice of the U.S. Bishops. He may deem the bishops' wisdom above his pay grade. Now, however, it is time for Catholic citizens, whom the president is forcing to pay for this immoral research, to rise up beyond the rhetoric of hope and high expectation and let the president know that this is not the type of change we're prepared to accept.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.