PEORIA, IL 7 (NE)

    The guidelines issued by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on embryo research were among several current issues discussed by about 100 parish pro-life coordinators at their annual meeting last week at St. Martin de Porres Parish, Peoria.

    During the event, keynote speaker Loretta Fleming, assistant director of field coordination for the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHLA), stressed the illegality of these guidelines, recalling that since 1996 Congress has forbidden federal funding of any research in which human embryos are harmed or destroyed.

    The NIH specified that only "excess" frozen embryos created in fertility treatments and later donated for research purposes should be used, which is "their sneaky way of getting around" the law, Fleming said. During the address, Fleming urged education on pro-life issues, encouraging a legal reform to defend human life.

We encourage you to check the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.