October 6, 2020

Philadelphia, PA- October 6, 2020- The Catholic Medical Association today expressed its opposition to California’s Proposition 14, which would authorize $5.5 billion in bonds to support stem cell research. 

“Ending disease and suffering is what we strive for as health care professionals, but we must never abandon our moral obligation to do so through ethical means,” said CMA President, Dr. Michael Parker. 
The CMA opposes the use of embryonic stem cells for research because it recognizes the biological reality of human life in its earliest stages of development. 

“To destroy human embryos to acquire stem cells for research study is affront to their intrinsic dignity. Human embryos need our protection. As laudable as medical research is, it must not expose nascent human life to what Pope Francis refers to in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti aspart of a “throwaway” culture,” said Dr. Greg Burke, Co-Chair of CMA’s Ethics Committee. 

“Through the continued renewal of the federal Hyde Amendment, the American people have been clear that they do not support the use of tax dollars to fund the destruction of unborn human life. This Proposition 14 circumvents this moral position by asking the people of California to fund what constitutes the ultimate cannibalization of the most vulnerable human beings,” said Dr. Marie Hilliard, Co-Chair of CMA’s Ethics Committee.
 A “yes” vote on Prop 14 would allocate $5.5 billion to California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Research at CIRM includes the use of human embryos from in vitro fertilization.

CMA believes there are ethical options which show greater promise, and notes its support and success of adult and placental stem cell research.

“The founding principles of our nation recognize the inherent dignity and right to life of every human being as self evident, based on the natural law. Therefore, scientific experimentation leading to the willful destruction of human beings in their embryonic stage of development is profoundly immoral regardless of the perceived benefit to humanity. Positive laws supporting or funding this unethical research are inherently unjust,” said Dr. Steve White, Chair of CMA’s Health Policy Committee.
###The Catholic Medical Association is a national, physician-led community of more than 2,300 healthcare professionals consisting of 111 local guilds. CMA mission is to inform, organize, and inspire its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principles of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.