4 bishops condemn stem cell proposal

The state's four Roman Catholic bishops invoke the pope's struggle with Parkinson's disease today in a statement condemning the Legislature's bid to pass a bill that would encourage human embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts.

Many scientists say stem cell research may one day help treat those who suffer from Parkinson's and other life-threatening illnesses. The bishops, however, argued that embryonic stem cell research would violate the church's teachings on the sanctity of life.

''The world . . . has been deeply affected by the profound moral witness of Pope John Paul II, who struggles with Parkinson's-like disabilities and yet continues to plead with scientists to pursue research only through ethical means," the bishops write in today's edition of The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese, calling on Catholics around the state to persuade lawmakers to vote against the proposed legislation.

''We join the Holy Father's appeal to members of the biotechnology and scientific communities to turn away from research that is both unethical and unnecessary," the statement said. ''Science does not have to kill in order to cure."

In their statement, the bishops wrote that they see a ''lethal connection" between cloning for research purposes and the harvesting of embryonic stem cells.

''The cloning process itself denies a cloned child the right to come into existence with and through a mother and a father and distorts biological and familial relationships," they wrote. ''Creating life only to destroy it adds to the offense against human dignity."

The stem cell research bill would give the state's endorsement to research to produce cloned human embryos for research, as long as the embryos are not implanted in wombs. Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, primary author of the bill, insists that the legislation would not allow human cloning.

Travaglini, Democrat of East Boston, and other lawmakers say they are seeking to promote research here to compete with California, where lawmakers last fall passed a $3 billion stem-cell bond initiative. The proposed bill does not include state money for stem cell research, but Travaglini said he would seek state funding if the bill passes. Travaglini was traveling and unavailable for comment yesterday.

The bishops' statement was issued after senior Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate said this week that they have the votes to pass the proposed bill by the end of the month. They are still trying to gather the two-thirds margin necessary to override an anticipated veto by Governor Mitt Romney.

The statement is being issued by Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, and Bishops George W. Coleman of Fall River, Timothy A. McDonnell of Springfield, and Robert J. McManus of Worcester.

One lawmaker said yesterday that the bishops' objections are an important part of the debate on Beacon Hill. ''I'm a practicing Catholic, and I certainly respect and understand the concerns of the bishops," said Senator Jack Hart, a South Boston Democrat who chairs the committee on economic development and emerging technologies, which held a hearing on the subject last month. ''We need to understand both sides of the argument and weigh the scientific breakthroughs with the ethical dilemmas. It's very serious, and we're taking it very seriously."

The bishops' statement marks a stepped-up effort by the Catholic Church to derail the legislation. The bishops issued similar, high-profile statements last year encouraging lawmakers to vote for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Officials at the Archdiocese of Boston did not return calls for comment yesterday.