To a
working party sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
and the Bilbao Vizcaya Bank Foundation
20 November 1993
On Saturday, 20 November, the Holy Father
addressed a working party sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and
the Bilbao Vizcaya Bank
Foundation, which met on 19-20 November to discuss "the legal and ethical aspects of the
Human Genome Project". The Pope
stressed respect for every aspect of the human being from the moment of
conception, and appealed to the ethical sense of the scientific community. Here
is a translation of his French-language discourse:
Your Excellencies,
Reverend Fathers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1.Your working sessions on the theme "the legal and ethical aspects of the
Human Genome Project" are taking place at a particularly opportune
moment. Recent news of experimentation in human genetics have overwhelmed the
scientific community and may of our contemporaries. In the face of rapid
scientific progress, ethical and legal reflection on such serious issues seems
urgent as this century draws to a close.
2.I must first acknowledge the numerous efforts of scientists, researchers and doctors who are
dedicated to deciphering the human genome and to analyzing the results to
gain greater knowledge of molecular biology and the genetic causes of many
diseases. One cannot but encourage these studies, as long as they lead to new
horizons in genetic treatment and therapy with respect for the life and
integrity of the subject, and seek the individual protection or cure of
patients, born or unborn, who are affected by what prove most frequently to be
lethal pathologies. One must not, however, overlook the fact that these
discoveries risk being used for the selection of embryos, eliminating those
affected by genetic diseases or which are carriers of pathological genetic
traits.
The constant
improvement of our knowledge of the living being is in itself good, because the search for the truth is
inherent in man's primordial vocation and is the first praise addressed to the
Creator "who shapes each man's beginning as he brings about the origin of
everything" (2 Mc 7:23). Human
reason, endowed with innumerable powers and varying activities, combines scientific reason and ethical reason. It
is capable of perfecting experimental procedures to learn more about creation,
and at the same time reminds us of the obligations of the moral law at the
service of human dignity. The desire to acquire knowledge, therefore, cannot be
science's sole motive and justification, as we are sometimes tempted to think,
at the risk of endangering the aim of the medical process to seek, in an
inseparable way, the good of the individual and of all humanity.
Some use of this knowledge is threat to the
human person
Because it enables us to discover
the infinitely great and the infinitely small, and achieves impressive results,
science is seductive and fascinating. But
we should remember that even though it may be able to explain biological
functions and the interaction of molecules, alone
it cannot express the ultimate truth and offer the happiness that man seeks
to attain nor dictate moral criteria for attaining the good. Indeed, the latter
are not established on the basis of what is technically possible; they are not
deduced from the findings of experimental sciences but must be "sought in
the dignity proper to the human person" (cf. Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 50).
3.The project that consists in deciphering the sequences of the human
genome and in studying their macro-molecular structure in order to determine
each individual's genetic map, makes certain knowledge available to doctors
and biologists. Some of the applications of this knowledge could reach beyond
the medical field, and represent a
formidable threat to the human being. It is enough to recall the many forms
of eugenics or discrimination connected with the possible uses of prognostic
medicine. In the light of recent research, the responsibility of the entire
human community is called upon to ensure the respect due to the human person.
According to their capacities, spiritual families, moralists, philosophers,
lawyers and political authorities will exercise their vigilance to ensure that
every scientific process respect the integrity of the human person, "an
ever urgent need" (Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n.
13)
4.It is therefore important to take stock of the moral problems that
have bearing not on knowledge itself, but on the means of acquiring knowledge as well as on its possible or
predictable applications. Indeed, we know that today we are able to acquire
knowledge of the human genome without the slightest injury to the subject. Thus
the first moral criterion to guide all research is respect for the human being
on whom the research is being carried out. But certain discoveries, which
appear to be technical achievements or scientific feats, could be at the root
of a certain tension for the scientific spirit itself: on the one hand they
cause admiration at the ingenuity displayed, and on the other, the frequently
justifiable fear that the human person's dignity might be seriously harmed or
jeopardized. This tension is all to the credit of those who reflect on the
values that guide their choices as regards research, for they indicate the
ethical sense that is naturally present in all consciences.
5.It is not the Church's task to
establish the scientific and technical criteria of medical research, but it is
up to the Church, in the name of her
mission and her centuries-old tradition, to recall the limits within which any
process is beneficial to man, for freedom must always be ordered to the
good. In Christ, the Church contemplates the perfect Man, the model par excellence of all men and the way to
eternal life; she wishes to offer lines of thought, to enlighten her brothers
and sisters in humanity and to propose to them the moral values necessary for
action, which may also serve as indispensable reference point for researchers
led to take decisions in which the dignity of man is involved. In fact,
Revelation alone leads to man's integral knowledge, which philosophic wisdom
and scientific disciplines can apprehend in a gradual and marvelous way, but
which is always uncertain and incomplete.
Embryos cannot be object of experimentation
6.Each human being must be considered and "respected as a person
from the very moment of his conception" (Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, Instruction Donum vitae n. 2,
8), consisting of a body and a spiritual soul and possessing an intrinsic value
(cf. Jer 1:5): for the Church this is the guiding
principle for the development of research. The human person is not defined
according to his present or future activity nor obliged to become what is
glimpsed of him in the genome, but according to the essential qualities of his being,
the capacities connected with his very nature. From the moment of
fertilization, a new being cannot be reduced to its genetic inheritance, which
are its biological basis and which hold the promise of life for the subject. As
Tertullian says: "he who must become a man is
already a man" (Apologeticum, IX, 8). In the scientific realm as in
all areas, the right moral decision requires an integral view of man, in other
words a conception going beyond the visible and the tangible, which recognizes
transcendent value and takes into account what establishes him as a spiritual
being.
Consequently, to use an embryo as a pure object of analysis or experimentation is to
attack the dignity of the person and the human race. Indeed, no one has the
right to determine the threshold of humanity for an individual being, which
would amount to claiming for himself an inordinate power over his fellow men.
7.Therefore at no moment in its
development can the embryo be the subject
of tests that are not beneficial, or of experimentation that would
inevitably lead to its destruction or mutilation or irreversibly damage it, for man's nature
itself would be mocked and wounded. The genetic inheritance is the treasure
that belongs or could belong to a unique being who has the right to life and
integral human growth. Thoughtless manipulations of gametes or embryos, which
consist in transforming the specific sequences of the genome that bear the
traits proper to the species and the individual, make humanity run the serious
risk of genetic mutations that will necessarily alter the spiritual and
physical integrity not only of the human beings on which these alterations are
made but even more on individuals in future generations.
If it is not ordered to his good, experimentation on man, which first
seems an achievement in the area of knowledge, risks leading to the degradation
of the authentic dignity and value of what is human. In fact, the moral criteria for research is always man in
his physical and spiritual being. The ethical sense implies not being
willing to engage in research that would offend his human dignity or hamper is
overall growth. This is not however to condemn researchers to ignorance, they
are invited to redouble their ingenuity. With a keen sense of what a man is, they
will be able to find new paths of knowledge and carry out the invaluable
service expected from them by the human community.
Human embryo is subject of rights
The use of prognostic medicine,
which accompanies the sequencing of the human genome, also raises other
delicate problems. In particular, there is the issue of informed consent by the
adult subject on whom the genetic research is performed, as well as that of
respect for confidentiality regarding the possible discovery of factors that
could affect the person and his descendants. Nor should one any longer neglect
the delicate issue of communicating to individuals data proving the existence,
in latent form, of genetic pathologies that justify prognoses harmful to the
subject's health.
8.The Church wishes to remind legislators of their responsibility for the
protection and promotion of persons, since projects for human genome
analysis are rich in promise but also imply innumerable risks. The embryo
should be recognized as a legal subject by the laws of nations, lest humanity
be endangered. By protecting the embryo, society is protecting every man who
recognizes in this tiny, defenseless being what he was at the beginning of his
existence. More that any other, this earliest human frailty requires the concern
of a society that prides itself on
guaranteeing respect for its weakest members. In this way it is responding
to the basic requirements of justice and solidarity that unite the human
family.
9.At the end of our meeting, I would like to renew my appeal to the scientific
community that the meaning of man and moral values remain the basis for
decisions in the field of research. I hope that the reflections made by
your working party may offer reference points to researchers as well as to
those drafting codes of professional ethics and legal documents. My gratitude
goes to those who have cooperated in different ways in these study days. I
thank those who have contributed during the enriching exchanges. I thank you
sincerely for your participation in this research group, which I hope will bear
abundant fruit and I pray to the Almighty to help you in your efforts of moral
reflection as well as in your research.