Vatican bans stemcell research

Vatican Issues Instruction on Bioethics

Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

From left, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Monsignor Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, Rev. Federico Lombardi, Monsignor Elio Sgreccia and Professor Maria Luisa Di Pietro during a press conference on bioethics at the Vatican on Friday.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

Published: December 12, 2008

The Vatican issued its most authoritative and sweeping document on bioethical issues in more than 20 years on Friday, taking into account recent developments in biomedical technology and reinforcing the church’s opposition to in vitro fertilization, human cloning, genetic testing on embryos before implantation and embryonic stem cell research.The Vatican says these techniques violate the principles that every human life — even an embryo — is sacred, and that babies should be conceived only through intercourse by a married couple.

The 32-page instruction, titled “Dignitas Personae,” or “The Dignity of the Person,” was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, and carries the approval and the authority of Pope Benedict XVI.  more

Science and Religion: Stem cells from Skin row

Teams at Kyoto University and at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the United States last year discovered how to use skin to produce stem cells -- which can develop into various organs or nerves.

The finding was hailed by the Vatican and US President George W. Bush because it can circumvent an ethical row over conventional stem cell research using human embryos.