American Life League’s American Bioethics Advisory Commission has issued the following statement in response to a recent article (1/30/04) in The Washington Post, “GU [Georgetown University] to Continue Controversial Research.” Speaking on behalf of the ABAC is Fr. Joseph Howard, M. Div., director.
The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (4th ed., 2001), which was approved by the U.S. bishops, tells us that ‘Catholic health care institutions should not make use of human tissue obtained by direct abortions even for research and therapeutic purposes’ (Directive #66) Georgetown University’s decision to continue their research on cell lines that they now know are derived from aborted children appears to be in direct contradiction to this rule and the Church.
The university’s claim that the potential benefits of this research justify continuing it not only flies in the face of Directive 66, but also lacks any sound moral judgment. The Church has never accepted the Machiavellian argument that the ends justify the means as a licit rationale for one’s actions. And one cannot dismiss the fact that these actions can lead to grave scandal among the faithful and weaken the Church’s impact of similar moral teachings.
As a Catholic university, Georgetown’s curriculum and research should be beyond reproach. The Catholic Church embraces the scientific pursuit of knowledge, but never at the expense of an innocent human life. Georgetown University Medical Center should cease any further research using these cell lines derived from abortion. It should raise the bar on how this research is conducted by devoting its time and money to forms of research that do not involve moral ambiguity and scandal.
Posted: 13 Feb 04
