Spanish Bishops Condemn Creation of “Savior Sibling,” Hand-picked for Optimal Genetic Material
By Kathleen Gilbert
MADRID, Spain, October 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A baby who was grown in order to donate umbilical cord blood to his ailing brother was born last week, an event that was widely reported in Spanish media. The renewed publicity given to the case has sparked criticism from the pro-life community and the Church who, while welcoming the birth of a newborn child, condemned the utilitarian mindset that surrounded the circumstances of his conception and birth.
Baby Javier Mariscal is the first “medicinal baby” to be born in Spain, carried to term in order to donate stem cells that may cure his six-year-old brother Andres, who has severe but non-fatal congenital anaemia. Javier was selected from among six embryos through a technique known as stem-cell selection, which determined that he did not inherit the condition, and could therefore grow stem cells in his umbilical cord that may help Andres. The remaining embryos were either frozen or killed and discarded.
In a statement published last weekend, the Spanish bishops blamed this controversial “savior sibling” method for depriving the remaining embryos of “the fundamental right to life” simply because they would not be able to help Andres. While some hailed Javier’s birth as the next step in scientific progress, the bishops warned that it “reduced the dignity of the individual to a simple utilitarian value.”
The bishops noted that the secular media has emphasized the good news of the child’s birth, and remarked: “Put like this, the news ought to be a source of joy for all. However, the dramatic fact that the sick embryos, and eventually the healthy ones that were not genetically compatible were destroyed has been silenced.
“The Church wants to lend her voice to the voiceless and to those who have been deprived of the fundamental right to life,” said the bishops, adding that their statements were not intended to judge, but to “draw attention to the objective ethical principles that protect the dignity of all human beings.”
The Spanish pro-life community also reacted with dismay at the case. Manuel Cruz, director of the Life Foundation, told the Times Online, “The method of this birth is degrading for human beings to have been selected like a prize.”
The Vatican issued a statement in L’Osservatore Romano following the child’s birth, saying it was unjustifiable that parents had “sacrificed other possible children” in order to try curing Andres. About 80% of Spain’s population is Catholic.
The case is the first of its kind after the Spanish parliament passed legislation in 2006 allowing the genetic selection of embryos.
The popularity of genetic screening to produce a “designer baby” like Javier is on the rise. However, many bioethicists consider screening for reasons of preference to undermine the intrinsic quality of human life, as it weighs the value of each baby’s life according to his or her accidental traits.
Link
