Religion, Catholic

THE STANCE OF the Catholic Church on embryonic stem cell research is aligned with its opposition to abortion, artificial contraception, and most forms of assisted reproductive technologies. Despite the potential therapeutic benefits of using stem cells in treating many human diseases, the Catholic Church unambiguously opposes embryonic stem cell research using human embryos and finds it to be unethical because embryonic stem cell research leaves the embryo unviable. The Catholic Church strongly believes that all life must be protected and defines life as beginning at the moment of conception. Catholic documents and statements on cloning, stem cell research, and reproductive technologies all attempt to walk a fine line in their depiction of science and technology. They affirm that scientific endeavors will result in appropriate therapeutic ...