Stem cell ethics charter adopted in Seoul
Seoul (AsiaNews) Park Sang-chul, director of the Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (KSMCB), announced yesterday that the Society was adopting an Ethics Charter for Life Science Scientists that would provide guidelines to protect human embryos.
"This ethics charter is a self-imposed restraint aimed at fostering a respect for life when carrying out life science studies. This is just an announcement now, but it marks a significant step,'' said Mr Park, who is also a professor at Seoul National University. "Down the road, we plan to draw up specific guidelines to enforce the charter in collaboration with other scientific societies," he added.
The Korean government has already passed a law that protects human embryos, but this is the first time the nation's scientists have come out with an ethics charter of their own.
The KSMCB is the nation's biggest life science organisation with more than 5,000 members including stem cell pioneer Hwang Woo-suk.
Embryonic stem cell research is currently at the centre of a debate between those who consider them essential to treat degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and those, Catholics for instance, who reject the practice on moral grounds since it involves the experimental use of embryos, which are human life's first form.
Although Card Kim Sou-hwanin recognised that human embryonic research raises many ethical questions, he said in a September 28 interview to the Catholic Times that human embryos are unique and for all intents and purposes cannot be replicated.
"I would like to express my respect and appreciation for scientists and doctors who make their best effort day and night in treating diseases and in scientific development. In particular, Dr. Hwang who is an excellent and world-famous scientist," the prelate said. "However, to my great regret, we cannot just applaud Dr. Hwang's achievements, especially regarding human embryonic stem cells research. In the Catholic Church in Korea, many Bishops and life ethicists have already and rightly expressed opposition to such research."
"One thing I want to stress here is the clear principle of the dignity of human life," the Cardinal explained. "Some people consider the opposition of the Church a conflict between 'religion and science', but I do not think so. To regard human embryos as a human life is not a religious doctrine or belief but concerns fundamental and universal ethics," he stressed.
If the defence of human rights is the basic principle of the Law, he said, then "[i]f a law violates this most fundamental right, i.e., the right to life, it commits a critical error."
The Cardinal concluded saying that a "collapsed building can be reconstructed. [. . .] However, if our sense of values and the dignity of life collapse, it will be very difficult to restore them. Even if it is invisible, we should first defend the value of life, which will sustain our society and lead us to the right path."
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