Human Embryo Is a Child, Says Bishop Sgreccia

(Feb. 25, 2006) - According to a leading bioethics authority of the Catholic Church, the human embryo, even if it is not being nurtured in a maternal uterus, is a child. Bishop Elio Sgreccia who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life made the statement in a press conference ahead of a 2-day congress next week on the theme, "The Human Embryo Prior to Implantation: Scientific Aspects and Bioethical Considerations." The Feb. 27-28 meeting is bringing some 350 experts, including scientists, doctors, researchers, theologians and bioethicists from all over the world. "In any case, the embryo is a child: a boy or a girl, that has a special relationship with his parents and, for those who are believers, also has a special relationship with God," said Bishop Sgreccia in the Vatican press office. The human embryo maintains its status as a child, clarified Bishop Sgreccia, even when it is manipulated or destroyed, thus becoming a "crucial" question "both for anthropology as well as ethics." The congress will study whether the Church’s position on this matter has scientific basis and whether this stand can be defended from the ethical point of view.