A very, very helpful post over at Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex about that new embryonic material transfer technique that’s supposed to sort of mimic cloning without actually creating a new person.

The proponents of this methods, which Desmond refers to as the Pro-Life Dream Team of scientists, doctors, moral theologians, and medical ethicists, are convinced that a cell which lacks the epigenetic primordia to become a fetus, cannot be considered a zygote. In fact, 35 of them signed a statement that said this proposed technology should proceed on animal cells to see if it works and to remove any doubts that an embryo is not formed. The other side, which includes many of the faculty at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America, as well as doctors and theologians from other institutions, reject this contention. They say that the proponents are taking a mechanistic approach to the issue and fail to recognize the possibility that the entity that is formed may in fact be a disabled zygote which has been deformed such that all it can now do is produce pluripotent cells. Here is the rub. The opponents are not necessarily sure that it is possible to resolve this uncertainty based solely on the physical evidence.

Another reader notes:

However, the USCCB went on record with this a while ago:

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/publicat/lifeissues/063005.htm

Also, Levada issued a letter endorsing this, after he had been announced as CDF head, but before he took it over…..

This looks like a hot one….. also, here are more conference links….

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/stemcell/index.htm