MEDIA RELEASE The NSW Council of Churches ADVANCING A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

March 19, 2002

CHURCHES SAY: “PUT BRAKES ON EMBRYO STEM CELL RESEARCH”

The NSW Council of Churches has expressed concern at Premier Bob Car’s apparent desire to rush into approving embryonic stem cell research. The Churches urge the Premier to exercise restraint and not rush through legislation which will allow – even encourage the harvesting of stem cells from human embryos for research purposes.

“A human embryo has the potential of developing into a person and needs to be respected,” said Mr Ray Hoekzema, President of the NSW Council of Churches.

Harvesting a stem cell from a human embryo is a matter of “life or death” in so far that extracting the stem cell destroys the embryo and thus destroys its potential life. Each embryo contains the unique genetic potential of an individual human being.

“Stem cell research is still in its infancy,” said Mr Hoekzema, “therefore, restraint is necessary and all the more so when, as reported by the Daily Telegraph (27.11.01). “scientists admit they are driven largely to do something first.”

The New York Times has reported US President Bush as saying: “Stem cell research takes place on a slippery slope of moral concern where much biomedical research is and will be conducted. We must keep our ethical footing. Governments have a clear duty to promote scientific discovery – and a duty to define certain boundaries.”

Though stem cells purportedly will lead to providing the cells that can develop into numerous types of tissues – muscle, cartilage, liver and bone – and different types of neurons and brain cells, creditable scientists have claimed that there are a number of other sources which can provide us with the stem cells needed to do the research

Apart from the placenta and umbilical cord blood, the New Scientist (23.01.02) reports that stem cells occur in adult bone marrow. Experiments indicate the cells have the same versatility as those harvested from human embryos. But unlike them, the bone marrow stem cells do not appear to form cancerous masses when injected into adults. Furthermore, there is no danger of rejection as they can be the person’s own cells

Validation of such finding would prove that the destruction of human embryos in order to harvest stem cells is unnecessary. No reasonable person could justify violating ethical barriers to clone and harvest human embryos for their stem cells.

“We need to pursue and encourage research of the alternatives. Then we need to examine and re-examine the scientific facts with a fully informed moral conscience,” said Mr Hoekzema.

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All media inquiries to Bruce Thornton Phone/fax (+61-2) 9744 7755

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