Submission to the Senate Committee for the inquiry into  
Research Involving Embryos Act 2002
- prepared by Paul Sheehan of the Sydney Thomas More Centre.

The Thomas More Centre is an autonomous body of people committed to the Christian tradition which monitors and attempts to enlighten with Christian values, the legal, political, social, religious and philosophical tenets which influence modern life.  The centre is named after Saint Thomas More, a brilliant scholar and distinguished Lord Chancellor, whose great virtue, moral integrity and courage during the English Reformation in the sixteenth century, are standards by which we strive to live today.
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As a Christian organisation, we are greatly troubled by the current debate before both the parliament and the senate concerning stem cell experimentation on excess IVF embryos.  We are not against cures from stem cell technology, only from the source and the means by which stem cells are obtained.  We firmly believe that the 1-14 day old embryo is very much a human being and as a result its life is sacred and must be protected.

 “Human Life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.  God alone is the Lord from its beginning to its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.

Any given organ of our body is part of a human, but on its own is not alive and thus not a complete human being.  At the moment of conception, the zygote has its own genetic code with forty-six unique chromosomes.  At this point, the persons own “genotype” is established which determine their individual physical characteristics such as gender, eye colour and hair colour.  Although this new human being does not resemble a human figure, it is immediately very much a human being with the potential to develop into a baby, then a child after birth, and finally a fully-grown adult.  This natural progression from conception through to adulthood will progress providing the person is supplied with suitable nourishment of food and oxygen.

Those people that attempt to justify the termination of human life by denying its identity as human, demonstrate that humanity has not learned from atrocities such as Nazi Germany.

“The covenant between God and mankind is interwoven with reminders of God’s gift of human life and man’s murderous violence...”

To deny the fact that human life begins at conception raises the dilemma of identifying the point in time when a “non-human” foetus eventually becomes human.  It is entirely arbitrary to define the beginning of life at some point after conception.  Conception is the only point that is absolute, any other point is open to discussion and interpretation.

From conception, it is possible for doctors to assess whether a foetus is alive or dead.  If we assess something to determine if it is alive or dead, we must first acknowledge that it is a living creature.  It must therefore be concluded that the embryo is a living organism, and thus human!  Two-week-old embryos are therefore human life at its earliest stage of development.  What authority do we have to take that life without its consent?  We do not kill the elderly and dying for the purpose of scientific research, why then should we allow destruction of a life at its earliest stage?

We must also remember that those people who support this legislation make the argument that these embryos in this specific case are going to die anyway.  This implies that the embryo is alive and its destruction for the extraction of stem cells is acceptable.

“Humans, even when they are minuscule, should not be farmed. Humans are neither means to an end, nor the equivalent of animal material which can be used for worthy research purposes. “

The ends are not justified by the means.  Taking a life (especially without its permission) to save another is unethical.  Furthermore, possible cures for diseases from embryonic stem cell technology are just that; a possibility.  There have been no known clinical trials on humans to date.  The benefits of this research, if there are any, are many years away, and many people have been mislead by the false hopes that are pushed by scientist who support this research.  This is especially cruel for those who are sick and hoping for such cures.

The elderly and those patients with a terminal illnesses or mortal injury are dying, but we don’t use them in scientific research. We have never allowed such members of our society to be experimented on because we are unable to cure them and they will die anyway.  Likewise we must not experiment on the smallest members of human society.

We are a Christian nation; according to the 2001 census, the Australian population is 70% Christian.  Christian values have shaped our society since its beginning and such values are evident in many areas of life today.  As Christians we live by certain rules and should hold high moral values.

The Fifth of The Ten Commandments is “Thou Shall Not Kill”.  There are no conditions attached to this commandment, it clearly states that all life must not be destroyed. We must therefore strive to protect all human beings, at every stage of their development, even embryos that are less than two weeks old.

As Christians, of all denominations, we pray the Our Father.  When we pray the Our Father, we are praying for the desire to become closer to and more like Jesus.  We want to live as he did, in the true Christian spirit.

“Praying to our Father should develop in us the will to become like him, and foster in us a humble and trusting heart.” 

To become like him and to grow in the Christian spirit implies that we have a respect for human life.

Temptation can lead us away from the path to Christ.  Temptation to do good by unworthy means is unacceptable and should not blind us of our values and beliefs.  Not only is it wrong, but temptation, at first in small ways, leads to greater sin.  Experimentation on embryos older than two weeks may eventually become a reality if we open the door now. 

The fact that these IVF embryos will die anyway is irrelevant and will only encourage some medical scientists to demand the production of embryos for the harvesting of stem cells.
“Allowing destructive research in the earliest period of life crosses a line and takes us down a new slippery slope.”    

The fact that we have surplus IVF embryos is an ethical nightmare in itself.  Using them for experimentation is not an acceptable solution to a problem that really has no suitable ethical answer. 

Research utilising adult stem cell technology is an example of an ethical practice that has worthy and positive results.  This technology has resulted in cures for diseases in numerous cases.  Embryonic stem cell research has to date not yielded a single cure and even its supporters agree that it will be many years before cures to diseases will become available, if at all.

Recently an adult stem cell was discovered that has the ability to turn into every single type of tissue in the body.  These cells are not embryonic, they are adult stem cells found in bone marrow.  As they are from an adult source they are not prone to rejection as embryonic stem cells are.  There is thus the strong possibility that there is no need for therapeutic cloning or embryonic stem cell research at all.

In summary, we believe as a Christian nation we should strive to uphold Christian values which have formed and shaped our society.  This means that we should have a high regard for the sanctity of human life and we should not be tempted to pursue cures for diseases by means of unethical procedures and medical research.  The embryo is very much a HUMAN BEING, thus having a right to life and we have no right to alter its natural progression to the birth of a human child.

If stem cell research is to offer us cures for disease, it must proceed with a profound respect for human life.

Paul Sheehan
for an on behalf of the Thomas More Centre – NSW

Thomas More Centre Sydney
Suite 1
Level 11
456 Kent Street, Sydney
(02) 9267 6159