MELBOURNE, April 8, 2002 (LSN.ca) – As Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed to allow destructive research on human embryos, the move was condemned by the Catholic Church and Tasmanian Senator Brian Harradine.
Harradine said that embryonic stem cell research “remains an evil act even if good comes of it.” He said the agreement reached today by the Prime Minister is a utilitarian approach which should be rejected by parliament. He called the harvesting of stem cells from live human embryos an attack on the most vulnerable members of the human family.
Speaking on behalf of the Catholic Bishops, the Archbishop in the Western Australian capital, Perth, Barry Hickey, said, “We're extremely disappointed that the Prime Minister has done this, we think he's mistaken because a human life is destroyed with stem cells coming from embryos.”