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Deadly Drive for Medical Perfection
ÁÄ: Genetic Selection and Abortion Taking a Higher Toll By Father John Flynn NEW YORK, DEC. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Some parents are selecting embryos in order to have children with genetic defects. In a bizarre reversal of the normal situation, where less-than-perfect embryos are rejected, a small number of people look for children who suffer the same problems they have, the New York Times reported Dec. 5. The article cited a forthcoming study, from the journal Fertility and Sterility. A survey of fertility clinics in the United States found that 3% of couples use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) "to select an embryo for the presence of a disability." With PGD the embryos are conceived in a laboratory and a single cell is taken for analysis. The embryos that pass the test are then implanted, the "defective" ones are left to die, and further healthy ones are sometimes frozen. On Sept. 20 the Associated Press explained that the technique can be used for a variety of purposes. A survey of American clinics, also published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found that almost half allow the use of PGD to let parents select the sex of their children. And 23% of the fertility centers would permit couples to help have a child whose umbilical cord blood could be used to treat a sibling with a serious illness. On Sept. 3 the New York Times published a lengthy article describing how PGD is used to eliminate embryos that have defective genes that might, at some unknown time in the future, lead to cancer. It is also used to eliminate embryos that carry genes leading to illnesses such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and Huntington's disease. The article noted the high financial costs involved. Depending on how successful the in vitro fertilization procedures are, conceiving a genetically screened baby could cost a couple upward of $25,000. Moreover, there is concern over the long-term health effects of removing a cell from an embryo for analysis at such an early stage of development. Human status Earlier this year the Pontifical Academy for Life examined the morality of PGD. The 12th general assembly of the Vatican body, held in February, was dedicated to considering the human embryo in the pre-implantation phase. The final declaration of the pontifical academy concluded that the human embryo before implantation is: -- already a being of the human species; -- an individual being; -- a being that possesses in itself the finality to develop as a human person together with the intrinsic capacity to achieve such development. The academy observed that a decision as to whether an embryo at this stage is already a "person" is open to further philosophical considerations. Nevertheless, the declaration stated: "We maintain that there is no significant reason to deny that the embryo is already a person in this phase." From a moral point of view, "the mere fact of being in the presence of a human being (and even the doubt of this would suffice) would demand full respect for the embryo's integrity and dignity," the statement continued. "[A]ny conduct that might in some way constitute a threat or an offense to its most fundamental rights, and first and foremost the right to life, must be considered as seriously immoral." Playing God But what the Church sees as immoral is hailed by others as a virtue. In England, Sunday Times commentator Minette Marrin declared herself to be "dazzled by the inventiveness and compassion" behind a new PGD technique that will make it easier to detect genetic defects in embryos. "It will be easier and better in every way to get rid of a tiny collection of cells," Marrin exulted in an article June 25. And to those who expressed concerns over the use of PGD Marrin replied: "But what on earth is wrong with humans playing God?" The extension of PGD seems limitless. William Saletan, writing in the Washington Post on Sept. 17, explained how PGD in its first days was used to detect fatal childhood diseases. But now a significant number of clinics allow it to be used to detect genetic problems that will not cause any diseases until well into middle age. Moreover, the risk of developing some of these illnesses is less than 50%. He noted a case where a patient wanted to screen for an arthritis gene that only has a 20% chance of causing problems. Saleton declared himself in favor of using PGD to eliminate serious illnesses. But even he admitted that its use could lead down a slippery slope. In fact, earlier this year the British body in charge of regulating fertility clinics, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, relaxed its rules on PGD use. Couples will now be allowed to screen embryos for genes such as those that can lead to a number of types of cancer, the BBC reported May 10. The decision came under strong criticism from some groups. Clara Mackay, of Breast Cancer Care, told the BBC that the incidence of breast cancer cases linked to known genes accounted for just five in 100 cases. "This means that if an embryo is implanted without the affected gene, the child can still develop the disease and would carry the same lifetime risk as anyone in the general population," she stated. Aborting the "unfit" Killing off babies with defects does not stop at the PGD phase. Mothers are often pressured to abort children with problems. The British newspaper Telegraph recounted one case in an article May 21. Lisa Green was urged by her doctor to abort when her baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome, at the 35th week of pregnancy. Green told the newspaper how the doctor only talked about the negative consequences of having a Down syndrome baby. In spite of the pressure she went ahead and two weeks later gave birth. Other children are not so fortunate. According to the Telegraph, in the United Kingdom 62% of Down syndrome cases are detected in the womb, and 92% of those unborn babies are aborted. Similarly, the Sunday Times on May 28 described how more than 20 babies had been aborted at a late stage of pregnancy because they suffered from club feet. The numbers came from data published by the Office for National Statistics, for 1996-2004. In addition, four other babies were aborted because they had webbed figures or extra digits. These problems, like club feet, can be corrected by surgery. A similar situation was reported in the Australian state of Victoria, reported the local Herald Sun on June 4. According to the state's Perinatal Data Collection Unit, there were 12 late-term abortions in 2004 for babies suffering from conditions such as club foot, cleft palate and dwarfism. Efforts to "perfect" the race sometimes reach levels reminiscent of Nazi times. An investigation is under way into complaints made by more than 80 Gypsy women in the Czech Republic that they were sterilized. The cases date from 1986 to 2004, the Christian Science Monitor reported Sept. 6. The newspaper added that sterilizations of Gypsy women also take place in countries such as Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. The push for medical perfection, it seems, has yet to reach its limits. ZE06121120
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ÁÄ: ROME, DEC. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Joseph Ratzinger's "Introduction to Christianity," first published in 1968, is now available for the first time in Russian. The book includes a foreword by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's foreign department. The publication was co-financed by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Peter Humeniuk, head of ACN's section for relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, stated: "It is of utmost importance that this reference work by one of the world's most important theologians [now Benedict XVI] is now accessible to Russian readers, especially in academies and seminaries. "It is a step toward a better understanding for the common roots of our Churches. This is also clear from the letter the Pope has sent to Metropolitan Kirill in order to thank him for his foreword." ZE06121201
ÁÄ: Statement Issued After Tehran Conference Opens VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See considers the Holocaust of the Jews during World War II as an "immense tragedy" which must be a "warning" to consciences. So says a press statement issued today by the Vatican press office, a day after the opening in Tehran, Iran, of a conference that questioned the Holocaust. The forum was organized under the sponsorship of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who in a televised speech last December labeled the Jewish Holocaust a "myth." Today's press statement ratifies the Holy See's position, expressed on March 16, 1998, with the document of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, entitled "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah." The Vatican press statement explains that "The past century witnessed the attempt to exterminate the Jewish people, with the consequent murder of millions of Jews, of all ages and all social categories, for the sole fact of belonging to this people." "The 'Shoah' was an immense tragedy, before which it is not possible to remain indifferent," the text says. Hence "[t]he Church has a profound respect and a great compassion for the experience lived by the Jewish people during World War II," it states. "The memory of those terrible events must be a warning leveled at consciences to eliminate conflicts, respect the legitimate rights of all peoples and exhort to peace, in truth and in justice." "This position," concludes the communiqué, "was affirmed by Pope John Paul II at the Yad Vashem Monument to Memory in Jerusalem, on March 23, 2000, and confirmed by His Holiness Benedict XVI during the visit to the Auschwitz extermination camp on May 28, 2006." ZE06121205 COMMISSION FOR RELIGIOUS RELATIONS WITH THE JEWS WE REMEMBER: A REFLECTION ON THE SHOAH http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_16031998_shoah_en.html
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