Brazilian Supreme Court OKs Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Stem Cells are OK according to the Brazilian Supreme Court. The court ruled that scientists can conduct embryonic stem cell research. This research could possibly cure Parkinson's diseaseand diabetes, but raises big ethical concerns about destroying embryos and whether or not they are alive.

Six of the court's 11 justices agreed to allow embryonic stem cell research and turned down a petition filed by former Attorney General Claudio Fontelles, who argued the law was unconstitutional because it violates the right to life. The law allow for research with embryos produced via in-vitro fertilization that have been frozen for at least three years.

The remaining five judges argued that while the law is constitutional, research should only be carried out "with restrictions" such as not allowing the embryo to be destroyed as well as forcing researchers to submit each case for the approval from an ethics commission.

This ruling drew immediate fire from, of course, church officials in the world's largest Roman Catholic country. The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops issued a statement saying it "regretted" the ruling. They compared it to the death sentence. The bishops' conference said its position "is not a matter of religion, but of the defense of human life, beginning with conception."

However most scientists praise Brazilian scientists for their work with adult stem cells for the treatment of certain cardiovascular diseases and Type 1 diabetes. They say that similar breakthrough discoveries for different diseases could be achieved with embryonic stem cells.

This of course is a slippery slope, but with all the possible cures from embryonic stem cells, I do not see why the lives of the people with diseases are worth less than the embryos. That being said, there was, not too long ago, a story about scientists being able to create embryonic stem cells without using actual embryos. I am curious why this would not be used.

Editor's note: eMaxHealth stands against the usage of embryonic stem cells for research. You can't cure disease and find treatment for one life by killing another and unprotected one. This is a dangerous trend. The strong determine if the weak should be killed or spared. The trend will lead to killing of the elderly and the sick in the next decades because the strong may decide that food shortage and the lack of enough resources people should not live more than 80 or 90 years. How about that?

Any approval of embryonic stem cell research means a definition of when life begins or definition of live in general. That definition can change at any time in the future to a dangerous direction. We need to protect embryonic stem cell. It's life.