Regis U seeks clarification
In the following “letter to the editor,” Regis University seeks to correct and clarify a comment it says was misquoted in a Denver Post story.
Letter to the Editor of The Denver Post
I would like to clarify a quotation attributed to me in the March 10 article entitled “Embryos Stir Issues Borne of Love.” The featured quotation was misinterpreted by a number of your readers to suggest that the position of either Regis University or the Catholic Church on the status of the embryo is unclear. During the interview, my actual statement was “As a society, we haven’t yet answered the question of the moral status of the embryo.” In the course of this lengthy interview, I was asked to generally identify a range of ethical issues related to in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies—and we discussed many more issues than were identified in the article. I pointed out that because we Americans have not reached a consensus on the moral status of the embryo, we tend to hold profoundly inconsistent public attitudes toward a full range of issues such as IVF, embryonic stem cell research, pre-natal genetic testing and manipulation, and other emerging technologies. In point of fact, the one core question all these issues have in common is the moral status of the embryo, a status that cannot logically shift arbitrarily from one issue to the next. The answer to that basic question has profound implications for society now, and in the future, as the technologies and their underlying science unfold much faster than the larger societal consideration of the impact.
Although there is much disagreement and inconsistency in the larger society, the position of the Catholic Church has long been consistent regarding the moral status of the embryo as a person in every moral sense from conception, and deserving of both human dignity and protection at every stage of development. Likewise, this basic position has been consistently applied across a range of reproductive and other issues and articulated in widely accessible documents, including the recent “Dignitas Personae” (CDF, 2008) and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, now in its fourth edition (NCCB/USCC, 2001).
As a Catholic Jesuit University which particularly treasures the Catholic tradition in teaching courses in health care ethics, we are committed to a deep exploration of a full range of bioethical issues health care providers might face. As such, students are challenged to consider complex issues in all aspects of health care, to form consistent and well-reasoned positions that inform their professional practice, and to assume leadership roles in the larger societal dialogue.
Deb Bennett-Woods
Chair, Health Care Ethics
Director, Ethics and Leadership in the Health Professions Center
Regis University
Denver
