Consistent Life Ethic > Life Issues > Conception to Birth
Abortion is the intentional destruction of human life in utero. Approximately 100 abortions occur each week in the 12 counties of the Diocese of Rochester (NYS Department of Health 1999 Statistics). 1.2 million abortions occur annually in the United States. In the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sternberg v. Carhart, a majority of five justices ruled that even the killing of a child mostly born alive is protected by what the Court called "the woman's right to choose." Abortion is essentially legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Women are at highest risk for abortion from age 17 to age 25. An unknown but significant percentage of women who abort, experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome throughout life. Many seek assistance through post abortion program such as the project Rachel ministries.
Stem cells are human cells found in the body from conception though natural death. These cells are capable of differentiating into different tissues and show promise for disease treatment. Adult stem cells are those cells found in umbilical cord blood, placental tissue and in the blood, bone marrow and some neurological tissue of the already born. Adult stem cells have been successful used to treat diabetes and vision impairment A controversy exists because some researchers prefer to work with the stem cells found in embryos. These stem cells are most able to indefinitely differentiate. A human embryo is destroyed when stem cells are extracted.
Human cloning is the effort to create humans as copies of other humans. Genetic materials are taken from a person’s body and injected into a human egg, which is then stimulated to begin human growth and development. Cloning treats human beings as products, as either useful as their end product (a cloned baby) or as mere carriers of traits that others find useful (stem cells). The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001 (S. 790) is currently being considered in the US Congress. Its passage into law would ban all human cloning in this country.
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