"It is a huge challenge to establish a dispassionate assessment of the stem-cell debate," said Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center. "We have to have ethical and moral guidelines in our research. Science without ethics is a recipe for disaster."

Unless there’s a complete change of minds and hearts, the future doesn’t look bright for pro-life supporters, he said. He described a scenario where "fetal farms" would be established to harvest organs from aborted babies.

Stem-cell research, in vitro fertilization and human cloning were among the topics examined by Father Pacholczyk during a two-day workshop last week at St. Agnes Church in Arlington. The discussion was sponsored by the Diocesan Office for Family Life.

"Father Tad is clearly ‘the’ expert in this field," said Bob Laird, director of the Office for Family Life. "His explanations of the biology, the politics and the theology were clear and understandable. Those who missed it missed a rare opportunity to hear a true expert in this field."

The workshop is part of a diocesan-wide effort to educate Catholics on these important medical topics, especially stem-cell research. The Virginia General Assembly is expected to introduce legislation dealing with embryonic stem-cell research during its legislative session in January 2006. Gov. Mark Warner has indicated he will include such funding in his final budget.

The Office of Catholic Schools, under the direction of Dr. Timothy McNiff, has developed a lesson plan on stem-cell research that is expected to be introduced into the curriculum this year.

The Office for Family Life will sponsor a pro-life conference in October featuring Richard Doerflinger from the U.S. bishops’ pro-life office. Virginia’s two Catholic bishops are expected to release a joint letter later this year on the subject of stem-cell research.

Father Pacholczyk, a priest from the Diocese of Fall River, is considered one of the foremost authorities in the field. To set the stage for the discussion, he said the first "test-tube" baby was born in 1978. He called in-vitro fertilization (IVF) the "pivotal technology" in regard to bioethical questions of cloning and stem-cell research. "Technology has begun to outstrip our moral integrity," he said. "Just because we can, should we?"

The moral questions connected with IVF deal with human dignity, the powerful exploiting the weak, and the dual sacredness of life and procreation.

"The general intention of the couple — the desire to have a baby — is good," Father Pacholczyk said. "The problem is in the means they take. IVF violates the centrality of the marital act."

Father Pacholczyk outlined six "objections" to IVF, which include undermining the meaning of sex, the issue of frozen embryos, the violation of the exclusivity of the marriage covenant, the risk of multiple births and a higher risk of birth defects.

Regarding stem-cell research and human cloning, Father Pacholczyk said the hype and over-selling by the media and Hollywood, most notably the emotional testimony of Christopher Reeve and Michael J. Fox, has tended to obscure the facts.

Through a series of talking points, Father Pacholczyk attempted to separate the truth from the myths surrounding the subject. The first myth is that embryonic stem-cells (ESC) are the only stem-cells available for research. In reality, stem-cells can be retrieved from a variety of sources, including adults, umbilical cords, placentas and amniotic fluid.

These adult stem-cells (ASC) have proven to be highly successful in treating diseases and medical conditions such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, lymphoma, spinal cord injuries and heart attacks, he said.

"In theory, ESC are more flexible than adult cells to become other cell tissues," Father Pacholczyk said, but ESC also form tumors more readily and they are hard to control. "ASC don’t make tumors and they’re more stable.

"No one has been cured of a disease using ESC," he added, "while thousands have been helped with ASC. We stand on the cusp of great possibility because of the success of ASC."

There’s also the myth that the Catholic Church is against all stem-cell research. The Church is always against embryonic stem-cell research because it kills the embryo, he said.

"The Church is not trying to slam the door on this type of research. Stem-cells from miscarried children are morally acceptable in the eyes of the Church," he said.

There is the misconception that ESC research is against the law. In 2001, President Bush created new restrictions on ESC research using federal funds, but some states, including California and Illinois, have set aside state money for ESC research. Private money is also an option, he said, although investors have not been quick to put their money into it because of the overwhelming lack of positive results.

Father Pacholczyk was asked if ESC research has not been successful, then why the highly-publicized push toward the technology.

"The first reason is money," he said. "The license on a successful stem-cell line would be very profitable for the researcher."

The second reason is the attraction toward power that ESC provides, he said. The recognition and accolades that a successful researcher would receive creates an attractive allure.

Finally, there is the "primordial temptation." It’s no coincidence that California, a state that is near bankruptcy, has pledged $3 billion toward ESC research, he said. "The dream of immortality is a secular fairy tale, the cosmic vision of snake oil being sold to the public."

State Subcommittee Hears Testimony

The Virginia General Assembly's Joint Subcommittee to Study Stem-cell Research recently heard testimony from researchers at the University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Eastern Virginia Medical College. All spoke in favor of the use of human embryos for medical research.

In his testimony, Dr. Roy Ogle said that research on human embryos had been taking place at the University of Virginia until federal grants dried up as a result of President George Bush's 2001 policy of not funding new lines of embryonic stem-cells (ESC). Ogle did not specifically say if the research is continuing using state or private funding, but implied that research was still taking place.

Dr. Jerome Strauss spoke in favor of such research, but never stated whether or not such research was taking place in Virginia Commonwealth’s labs. A representative from EVMC stated that no research involving human embryos was taking place at that school and none was planned. He did admit that research had been done on human embryos in the past.

The recent testimony in Richmond made it clear that adult stem-cell (ASC) research is achieving incredible advancements in medical treatments, while ESC research is going nowhere. Specifically, researchers admitted that, despite the rhetoric of pro-ESC researchers denying the potential of ASC to be used to create differing cells, success has been achieved doing just that.

Several states, including California, Illinois and Maryland, use taxpayer money to research on human embryos. Pro-abortion advocates in the Virginia General Assembly who favor ESC research will very likely urge lawmakers to spend millions of tax dollars to ensure that Virginia "remains competitive" in the field of medical research.