2-7-07 Testimony on Stem Cell Research

"In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue; participation in the political process is a moral obligation. All believers are called to faithful citizenship, to become informed, active, and responsible participants in the political process."

Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2003

Testimony for the House Biosciences and Emergency Technologies Committee

Chair: Representative Tim Mahoney

February 7, 2007

Good morning Chairman Mahoney and members of the Committee. My name is Chris Leifeld and I am the Executive Director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. The Minnesota Catholic Conference is the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

I am here to speak in opposition to House File 34, because of the moral and ethical implications involved in the use of embryonic stem cells. Catholic moral teaching on this issue is very clear. Every human life, from the first moment of existence until natural death, deserves our respect and protection. Human life has intrinsic dignity, not only a relative or instrumental value; thus every living member of the human species, including the human embryo, must be treated with the respect due to a human person.

Thus Catholic morality regarding respect for human life, rejects all deliberate involvement with the direct killing of human embryos for research or any other purpose. Such killing is gravely and intrinsically wrong, and no promised beneficial consequences can lessen that wrong. This conviction is also held by many Minnesotans, who should not be forced by government to promote with their tax dollars what they recognize as a direct killing of innocent human persons.

Regardless of the potential medical benefits, it is wrong to rely upon the destruction of some human beings for the possible benefit of others. At the same time, we contend that the use of stem cells from adults, amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood continues to holds great promise — without destroying human life. We would therefore urge the bill’s authors to consider amending this bill to exclude the use of embryonic stem cells.

We believe very strongly that human embryos are not disposable biological material and that decisions regarding biotechnology and human experimentation be based upon on respect for the inherent dignity of human life from its very beginning.

Thank You.