STEMS CELLS AND CATHOLIC TRADITION: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REASONED DISCUSSION WITHIN THE CHURCH
by Joanna Manning
What defines human life? When does human life begin? These are the fundamental questions, which have arisen, in contemporary debates over contraception, abortion, RU-486, and now stem cell research and genetic engineering. The Catholic Church’s hierarchy has been consistent in its response: full human life and personhood are present from the moment an ovum is fertilized by a sperm, whether this takes place in or outside the human body. ...