German bishops deplore EU decision to finance research with human embryos

Berlin, Germany, Jul 25, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The Bishops’ Conference of Germany issued a statement this week deploring the decision by the European Union to provide funding for research on human embryos, calling it a, “great defeat in the struggle for the protection of embryos in Europe.”

“Research with embryonic stem cells, which presupposes the destruction of human lives, may receive more funding from the EU,” the bishops lamented.  “Yesterday’s decision is therefore a horrible sign of the current state of the protection of human life in Europe.  The right to life and the unlimited protection of human life from the moment of conception are not totally guaranteed,” they noted.

In their message the bishops explained that, “interest in the research seems to be more important that the life and dignity and right to life of the human embryos.  Thus German funds will also be used for a type of research that is prohibited in Germany by laws against the killing of human life.”

“The decision is even more deplorable given that alternatives to embryonic stem cell research exist: the ethical research with adult stem cells,” the bishops emphasized.

Lastly, the bishops lamented, “the lack of initiatives for a more restrictive solution that ought to strengthen the protection of human embryos in Europe.”