Call for stem cell research vote after UCC decision

THE lord mayor of Cork has called for a national referendum on whether or not embryonic stem cell research should be permitted following the decision of University College Cork to allow it.

The governing body of UCC yesterday voted in favour of the proposal, but the controversial vote was only won by the narrowest of margins — 16 to 15 votes, the Irish Examiner has learnt.

According to the university, the research will be carried out under the strictest ethical guidelines, but lord mayor Brian Bermingham, a member of the governing body, said he was against it and that the Government had to step in and develop a national plan to deal with the issue. He said the Irish people should be allowed to decide.

Proponents of embryonic stem cell research argue it holds great promise for curing Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and other debilitating conditions. But yesterday’s decision has caused outrage among pro-life campaigners, who say the research is unethical, because taking the stem cells from the embryo destroys it.

Dr Audrey Dillon of the Pro-Life Campaign said it is a gross misrepresentation for UCC to claim it has found an ethical solution to embryo research that does not involve destroying human life. “Under the UCC proposal, human embryos are destroyed somewhere else,” said Dr Dillon. “The university imports the stem cells to use in their research, hypocritically denying their complicity in the killing that produced them.”

Dr Dillon said that while everyone wants to see cures for chronic diseases and disabilities, it is not ethical to destroy one human life to prolong another. “We must look for cures we can all live with. A human embryo is not a potential life, it is a human life with potential,” she said.

Senator Rónán Mullen, representing the NUI sector, said the decision was deplorable. “For the university to act in this way, in the absence of legislative provisions governing these matters, is pre-emptive and irresponsible,” he said.

“Embryonic stem cell research is wrong in principle and unnecessary.”

UCC, however, did not take the decision lightly, and said it needed a policy, as currently there is no national legislation dealing with the issue. A university spokesman said in recognition of the complex issues involved, UCC’s research ethics board had undertaken a lengthy consideration process. “We consulted with staff before drafting a policy which was then discussed by three separate university bodies,” he said. He added it was now the responsibility of scientific researchers to ensure it is carried out according to rigorous and transparent ethical standards.