Verbal gymnastics on embryonic destruction

AM I alone in feeling disquiet at the rationale used by the Irish Council for Bioethics to justify their support of embryonic stem cell research?

Science tells us that the embryo is a genetically distinct, complete, unique and self-ordering human organism with all the characteristics of life.

Indeed, it is welcome that the council recognises the simple fact that the embryo “represents human life in its earliest stages”.

However, it was forced to engage in philosophical gymnastics to justify destruction of that human life, to the most uncertain benefit of humans further along the continuum of life, by ascribing to the embryo merely “significant moral value” rather than “full moral status”.

Surely, all human beings should be considered equal and ought not to be harmed or considered less than fully human on the basis of age, size, stage of development or condition of dependency. To how many groups in the past was “full moral status” once commonly and universally denied?

That was wrong then. This is wrong now.

Prof PLH McSweeney

Dun Muire

Woodview

Douglas Road

Cork