National Bioethics Committee (NBC) of Italy considers it
ethically unacceptable to use human embryos for stem cell research, including
'spare' embryos, resulting from artificial procreation techniques.
Of the 41 members of the committee, 26 voted in opposition to experimentation,
10 were in favor, and 5 opted for an intermediary position, leaning toward
opposition.
Leticia Moratti, Italian Minister of Education, Universities and Research,
requested the NBC's opinion in connection with the European Union's 4th
research framework program.
The NBC President Francesco D'Agostino explained the position of the
governmental consultative body, affirming that "the embryos are human
lives with full right." Therefore, the "moral duty" exists to
respect and protect them "in their right to life, regardless of the way in
which they were procreated."
Given the Oviedo Convention and the Nice Letter, the NBC also expressed
opposition to the eventual public funding of this research, since it would
impede "the ever more promising and ethically impeccable use of stem cells
from umbilical cords, naturally aborted fetuses, or 'adult' stem cells."
According to D'Agostino, there are two reasons for the NBC's 'no.' "One is
of an ethical order: if the embryo is a human life with full rights, it has a
total right to life that must be recognized."
The other reason "is of the pragmatic order: if permission was given for
the use of spare embryos, there would be a risk of endorsing a fraud, namely,
the creation of embryos for their reproductive use but, in fact, destined for
research," the jurist explained.
The position of the minority, headed by Demetrio Neri, "emphasized the
pragmatic character more: it puts ethics between parenthesis to opt for a
compromise solution," D'Agostino clarified.
"Given that these spare embryos exist and will have a bad end, according
to those in favor, they should at least be used for research," he
continued.
The committee's president pointed out also that, unlike the usual scientific
protocols, in the case of stem cell research, preventive research on animals
has not been exhausted.
"I am afraid that scientists, in the hurry to attain scientific and
economic objectives, want to force the methodologies," D'Agostino
concluded.