The Catholic Church does condemn the use of in vitro fertilization, FWIW. They also run maternity homes and adoption agencies. Their positions are entirely consistent.
For non-Catholics, I think the stem cell argument is more generally a slippery slope argument -- right now the stem cells come from fertilized eggs that would be discarded anyway, but where's the brake on fertilizing eggs just to make more stem cells?
And if we agree to fertilize eggs just to make more stem cells, why not grow embryos just to harvest organs?
And if we grow embryos just to harvest organs, why not grow full term babies in order to harvest their organs?
And if we grow full term babies in order to harvest their organs, why not adults?
Is there, in fact, an ethical line to be drawn, and if so, what is it?
I say this with trepidation, because I don't want to irritate you, I am just pointing out that there is an internal logic (which you may or may not agree with).
(I think the dividing line is easy to bandy about, Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative, don't treat human beings as objects, but it's considered culturally acceptable to treat human beings as objects all over the world. Not everybody agrees with Kant. And anyway, what's "human" in this context?) |
