Letter to the National Institutes of Health
Fr. Joseph C. Howard, Jr., M.Div., has sent the following letter to
the National Institutes of Health:
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission is responding to the "Draft National
Institutes of Health Guidelines for Research Involving Human Pluripotent Stem
Cells" (December 1999). As research, experimentation, and therapeutic procedures
move forward with significant advances in molecular biology, it is critical that
appropriate ethical considerations are taken into account and that the moral rights of
all human beings are unconditionally respected from the moment of fertilization until
natural death. This is especially relevant regarding the current NIH Guidelines as
applied to human embryonic stem cell research.
To accurately understand the ethical realities surrounding human embryonic stem cell
research, it is absolutely essential to have a correct understanding of the scientific
embryology of the beginning of human life. Due to advances in scientific
biotechnology, we know with no doubt whatsoever that a human life begins at the
moment of fertilization. "The human zygote is a living entity, a human being, a
human individual, and a person, all one and inseparable. From the moment of
fertilization, under conditions we have come to understand and describe as normal,
all subsequent development to birth of a living newborn is a fait accompli. There is
no subsequent moment or stage which is held in arbitration or abeyance by the
mother, or the embryo, or the fetus. Nor is a second contribution, a signal or trigger,
needed from the male in order to continue and complete full development to birth.
Human development is a continuum in which so-called stages overlap and blend one
into another. Thus, the beginning of a new life is exacted by the beginning of
fertilization, the reproductive event which is the essence of life. " (Kischer, C.W.
1997. The Beginning of Life and the Establishment of the Continuum, pp. 10-11, in
The Human Development Hoax, Kischer and Irving, American Life League, Inc.,
Stafford, VA). Though many today use the term "pre-embryo," there is no valid
scientific or embryological basis for such a term since, prior to the formation of an
embryo, all that exist are gametes. Scientific research which is truly ethical must be
directed toward the good and service of all human beings without exception from the
moment of fertilization until natural death. Failure to observe this ethical
principle assaults the dignity of human beings resulting in automatic injustice. Human beings come to
be perceived as "objects" or "commodities" which can be exploited for the so-called benefit of others.
It must be continually emphasized that all human beings are "ends" in and of themselves and can never
be exploited as a "means" to an "end" without their dignity being violated. These fundamental ethical
principles must govern all experimentation, research, and therapeutic procedures as applied to human
beings unconditionally and without exception from the moment of fertilization until natural death.
The NIH Guidelines call for obtaining pluripotent stem cells for experimentation and manipulation
with the hope that these cells could be used for transplantation in persons suffering from various
diseases. Pluripotent stem cells are obtained using "human embryos created in excess of clinical need
by IVF where informed consent was obtained." It must be recognized that even though some
individuals perceive these human embryos as useless since "they are in excess of clinical need," this in
no manner diminishes nor destroys the objective nature of these and all other human embryos: All
human embryos—whether generated in vivo or in vitro—are human beings and subjects with rights
whose dignity and right to life must be unconditionally respected from the first moment of their
existence. Such "informed consent" which is granted is morally illicit. While it is true that pluripotent
stem cells are not human embryos themselves as totipotent stem cells are, it is also true that the
isolation of pluripotent stem cells by removal of the Inner Cell Mass of a human embryo at the
blastocyst stage of development results in the death of a human embryo each and every time and
amounts to nothing less than human embryonic vivisection (HEV). Investigators must be ready and
on standby to collect the pluripotent stem cells after a human embryo(s) has been destroyed or those
cells will die within minutes. This places those investigators in direct complicity in actions which are
gravely unethical and can never be morally justified. It is never morally justifiable to deliberately and
intentionally directly destroy one human life in order that another human life be saved.
The second source of pluripotent stem cells according to current NIH Guidelines is that of fetal tissue
obtained from women who have undergone induced abortion and "granted informed consent." Again
it must be recognized that such "informed consent" is morally illicit, as no parent has a moral right to
grant "consent" for the destruction of their child nor for the use of the remains of their child after the
act of killing has occurred. Investigators in this situation also must be ready and on standby to collect
these cells or they, too, will die within minutes. This places such investigators in direct complicity
with actions being performed which are gravely unethical. Individuals such as researchers or
investigators not involved in the act of killing who nonetheless have knowledge that the killing will
occur and remain on standby ready to collect cells, tissues or organs de facto, such persons are
directly and formally cooperating in actions which are gravely unethical and should certainly never be
funded by the United States Federal Government.
The American Bioethics Advisory Commission recognizes that it is possible to ethically isolate stem
cells for experimental research and manipulation in hopes of finding therapeutic cures. It is known
that various organs and tissues in the human body contain a reservoir of stem cells. These stem cells,
in principle, could be ethically isolated and used for therapeutic purposes as has been demonstrated
with both skin and bone. One such study evaluated the use of hematopoietic stem and progenitor
cells from umbilical-cord blood in 562 transplantations performed from August 24, 1992, through
January 30, 1998. This study included data on most placental-blood transplantations from unrelated
donors performed in the world thus far. The 562 patients in this study were diagnosed with one of
the following disorders: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Chronic
Myelogenous Leukemia, Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia,
Lymphoma, Fanconi's Anemia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder, Osteopetrosis, Hurler's
Syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, Adrenoleukodystrophy, Blackfan-Diamond Syndrome,
Myelodysplastic Disease, and Severe Aplastic Anemia. The results of this study found that for
patients for whom no histocompatible donor is available, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells from
placental blood offers substantial advantages: the relative ease of procurement; the absence of risk to
the donor; the small likelihood of transmitting clinically important viral infections such as CMV or
EBV; the low risk of severe graft-versus-host disease; and the rapid availability of placental blood to
transplantation centers. The effectiveness demonstrated in this study could be enhanced by wider
accessibility and by improvements that would speed engraftment and lessen early morbidity. (See N
Eng J Med 1998, 339:1565-77) It is very likely that these stem cells can differentiate into muscle,
bone, and connective tissue as well. Recent experimental studies conducted in mice demonstrated
that neural stem cells from the brains of mice when transplanted into the bone marrow of irradiated
mice were reprogrammable, becoming a variety of cell types, including myeloid and lymphoid cells as
well as early hematopoietic cells. Using experimental protocol with reverse design, mice were
injected with genetically tagged bone marrow cells and their brains were subsequently examined. The
tagged bone marrow cells were found to have the capacity to differentiate into microglia, fibrous
astrocytes of the subcortical white matter, and protoplasmic astrocytes of the neocortex.
In conclusion, the American Bioethics Advisory Commission shares the concerns of alleviating human
disease and suffering; nonetheless, we must seek solutions which are truly ethical and respect the
intrinsic dignity of all human beings without exception. This means showing unconditional respect for
all human life from the moment of fertilization until natural death. Failure to do so destroys the first
and most fundamental of all rights as established by the Laws of Nature: the unconditional right to life
of all human beings from the moment of fertilization. We must work together to conduct
experimental research and find therapeutic cures for pathologies which place science and medicine at
the service of all humanity exemplified by showing absolute respect for all human life.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Joseph C. Howard, Jr., M.Div.
Executive Director
American Bioethics Advisory Commission
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