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11 Major Flaws of Canadian Stem Cell Bill C-6 Concisely Explained by Dr. John Shea

Toronto, February 27, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. John Shea, who has extensively researched the reproductive technologies issues related to the Canadian Stem Cell Bill C-13, has produced a brief, point-form list of the major flaws of the bill. The legislation is currently before second reading hearings in the Canadian Senate.

This list is more detailed than a similar list from Campaign Life Coalition that was published on LifeSiteNews.com on February 26. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04022602.html

1. The Bill allows invitro fertilization of human beings.

2. Because of the inadequate definition given for the words "human clone", the Bill allows the following kinds of cloning of human beings: pronuclear, mitochondrial, germ-line nuclear transfer, germ-line recombinant DNA manipulation and cloning involving the use of artificially constructed genetic materials.

3. The Bill allows the creation of a hybrid. The Bill defines "hybrid" as a) a human ovum fertilized by a non-human sperm, b) a non-human ovum fertilized by a human sperm, c) a human ovum into which a non-human life form has been introduced, d) a non-human ovum into which the nucleus of a human cell has been introduced e) a human ovum or a non-human life form that otherwise contains haploid sets of chromosomes from both a human being and a non human life form. "Life form" is not defined. It therefore could include animals or plants and also artificially constructed sperm, oocytes, tissues, organs, organisms or genes whose construction has been initiated with nano-molecules. Nanotechnology has arrived and has heralded the beginning of eugenic and genetic engineering.

4. The Bill fails to define "human being" and to recognize the humanity of the embryo and fetus. Canadian law recognizes the beginning of human life as starting only after the fetus has exited the mother's body. Therefore, the human rights of the unborn are not protected by law, in Canada.

5. The Bill allows creation of an invitro embryo for the purpose of " ...improving or providing instruction in assisted reproduction procedures." Under this section any research on the embryo or fetus could be allowed if it were merely represented as improving assisted reproduction.

6. The Bill allows surrogate motherhood.

7. The Bill allows parents to consent to the use of their unborn offspring for research purposes.

8. The Bill allows post mortem harvesting of sperm and ova.

9. The Bill forbids the maintenance of an embryo's life outside the body of a female person after the fourteenth day of its existence and therefore mandates the killing of an invitro embryo if it is not implanted in a female person's uterus, or its development suspended by cryopreservation.

10. The Bill allows for the performance of any procedure and the provision, prescription, or administration of anything that would ensure or increase the probability that an embryo will be of a particular sex, or that would identify the sex of an invitro embryo in order to prevent, diagnose or treat a sex-linked disorder or disease.

11. The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of Bill C-6 exempting controlled activities or classes of controlled activities generally subject to any terms and conditions presented in the regulations. Furthermore, after the Bill passes, an un-elected regulatory agency can create new regulations which are not subject to parliamentary control.

Positive Aspect:
Dr. Shea states that “the only positive aspect of Bill C-6 is that it prohibits the purchase or sale of human sperm, ova and embryos.”

In addition, in his capacity as a member of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, Dr. Shea notes the following manner in which C-6 violates Catholic moral principles:

Catholic Church teaching forbids the following:

1. Homologous and heterologous invitro fertilization of human beings.

2. Research on the human embryo, unless there is moral certainty of not causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and mother.

3. The freezing (cryopreservation) of human embryos.

4. Attempts to influence the chromosomic or genetic inheritance that are not therapeutic, but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum Vitae, 1987).

Dr. Shea concludes that “In the light of this teaching and of the facts in regard to Bill C-6 cited above, I respectfully submit that Bill C-6 should be condemned by the Canadian hierarchy of the Catholic Church.”

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