Conditional genetic research

The European Cordis News reports that the Social Affairs Committee of the Maltese Parliament, which is led by conservatives, recommends genetic research with conditions. The Maltese Church is still not pleased. From Cordis News:

The Maltese government's Social Affairs Committee has presented recommendations to the national parliament, which support the authorisation of genetic research providing that a number of conditions are met. The recommendations follow an eight-month consultation and discussion period, but the opposition Labour Party would like to see this debate extended in order to take further into account the expectations of the Maltese population..

The Social Affairs Committee was slightly perturbed when, after securing a fragile consensus after eight months of debate, the bishops of Malta made a statement claiming that human life begins at a point earlier than that on which the committee had based discussions. The committee's position on the moment at which human life begins is based upon that of the Roman Catholic Church. The Donum Vitae states that human generation starts from the moment that they zygote is formed - the zygote is the cell produced when the nuclei of the two gametes have fused...However, a statement by the Maltese bishops claims that human life begins a stage earlier than this...

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