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The embryo debate

A Catholic MP has accused his church of showing a "lack of understanding" over controversial embryo research. Jim Devine, the Labour MP for Livingston, yesterday called for Cardinal Keith O'Brien to meet the scientists involved in the research after the churchman launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Gordon Brown over what he described as "monstrous" plans, which would allow for the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos for research purposes.

Full story at the Sunday Herald.

The case for: Dr Stephen Minger

"Where the Church has it wrong is in thinking we are mixing human and animal cells together, creating something that is a true hybrid. But what we are doing in the process of doing this inter-species work - which is referred to by scientists as using "admixed embryos" - is physically removing the nucleus from the cow egg, which completely removes the genetic and species identity, so it is essentially no longer a cow egg.

"I don't know what the cardinal's personal motivations are for doing this, but I think it is offensive that science which the government feels is important and has allowed, he construes as being monstrous or "Frankenstein research"."

Full story at the Sunday Herald.

The case against: Cardinal Keith O'Brien

"It's worth remembering that France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia have all banned the grotesque procedures we seek to legalise.

"Could it be that the citizens and politicians of those countries care nothing for the chronically ill among them? Perhaps they don't want to develop cures or therapies; perhaps they are simply anti-scientific Luddites! Or could it be that we are wrong and these democracies see no reason to attack the sanctity and dignity of human life when many alternatives exist?"

Full story at the Sunday Herald.