The ethics of HEK 293.

1 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae (February 2, 1987), Introduction, 5. 2 Ibid., I, 1. The topic of embryonic stem cells is very much in the forefront of public interest. The moral stance on obtaining stem cells from embryos is clear: The Church has always taught that all human life from the very beginning must be respected and protected. If human embryos are killed to obtain a certain type of cell, such action is morally wrong, no matter what good might be derived from the action. The document Donum vitae, issued by the Church in 1987, states that “from the moment of conception, the life of every human being is to be respected in an absolute way ... God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: No one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” 1 “The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life.” 2