GRAND RAPIDS — As a physician, Dr. William Passinault says it’s a bad bet to spend money on embryonic stem-cell research. As a Catholic, he says it is morally wrong.

But the retired surgeon also has seen patients helped by adult stem-cell therapy. So he applauded Michigan’s Catholic bishops for a campaign launched this week to educate parishioners about the church’s stand on stem cells.

“Since folks are going to be potentially asked to vote on (a ballot) issue — and surveys indicate the public on both sides are not well informed — this is certainly a praiseworthy effort at education,” said Passinault, chairman of the bioethics committee at Saint Mary’s Health Care.

The campaign comes as supporters of embryonic stem-cell research consider a petition drive to put a proposal on the 2008 ballot to lift the state ban.

More than 500,000 Catholic households statewide, including about 55,000 in West Michigan, were mailed packets from the Michigan Catholic Conference that are signed by the state’s seven bishops.

A 12-minute DVD and brochure outline the church’s opposition to embryonic stem-cell research and its support of using adult stem cells to treat dozens of diseases.

Parishes also received materials urging them to address the issue this weekend. The first Sunday in October is annually designated Respect Life Sunday by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Grand Rapids Bishop Walter Hurley encouraged parish priests to use the materials, saying they clarify church teaching on a complex issue.

“There is a perception the church is opposed to stem-cell research, and that’s totally not true,” he said. “There is no question about the commitment of the church to stem-cell research using adult stem cells.”

The best way to deal with misinformation is with true information and this looks like a great way to actually do that. The ballot measure in Missouri last year that was so deceptive in pretending to ban cloning got more opposition as time went on and ended up narrowly passing. Sending out short DVD is a great way to help get the truth out especially if they are well produced.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center has issued a statement on the Connecticut Bishop’s decision to allow Plan B without an ovulation test. This is a very informative statement that covers both the medical and ethical dimensions of this.

The role of bishops.
Bishops do not write medical protocols; health care professionals and medical institutions do that. If a protocol concerns a procedure that has ethical implications, it will be submitted to a bishop for his ethical judgment reached in consultation with medical and ethical experts. If the bishop is convinced the procedure will not violate the moral law, he will not stand in the way of its being implemented. He will basically grant what is called a �nihil obstat� which basically means there are no moral objections to the implementation of this protocol. Bishops simply do not have the competence to adjudicate between competing scientific claims about the mechanisms of drugs.

The NCBC.
In matters that have not yet been decided definitively by the Holy See, The National Catholic Bioethics Center has refrained from adopting one or another position on a disputed question. However, in the matter of protocols for sexual assault, there is virtual unanimity that an ovulation test should be administered before giving an anovulant medication. The protocol the NCBC has supported requires the ovulation test because it provides greater medical and moral certitude that the intervention will have its desired anovulatory effect. The NCBC objects strongly to state mandates, such as those passed by Connecticut and Massachusetts, that do not allow health care professionals and facilities to exercise their best medical judgment and which do not protect the consciences of all parties. We also object to state mandates that do not allow the victim of sexual assault to have all the information necessary for a medical intervention so that she might make an informed judgment. However, the NCBC understands the judgment of the Connecticut bishops that the administration of a contraceptive medication in the absence of an ovulation test is not an intrinsically evil act. However, it is immoral to violate one’s conscience, including the corporate consciences of health care agencies, and the unwillingness of the state to allow an exemption of conscience makes the law unjust and onerous.

You can read the full statement a the Catholics United for the Faith blog.

CUF is a great organization and I love their CUF Blog motto "Think with the Church!"