Pope Francis praised scientists searching for treatments for genetic diseases but cautioned against the use of human embryos in their research. The pontiff spoke during a Vatican-organized conference that highlighted global awareness of Huntington’s disease, a degenerative and incurable brain disorder.
Pope Francis encouraged geneticists to pursue scientific advancement only through means that do not contribute to the “throwaway culture” which treats human beings as objects for use. He was referring to ongoing research on human gene-editing to purportedly treat diseases.
“Some branches of research use human embryos, inevitably causing their destruction,” Pope Francis said Thursday. “But we know that no ends, even noble in themselves – such as a predicted utility for science, for other human beings or for society – can justify the destruction of human embryos,” he added.
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The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Pope Francis Cautions Against Dangers of Genetic Manipulation That Can Create ‘Super Humans’
