Embryo attack cardinal under fire

Oct 29 2008

A church leader came under fire after he accused the Prime Minister of promoting legislation which would enable cells to be taken from people without consent.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics, claimed the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill had "grotesque" implications. In an open letter to Gordon Brown, the cardinal compared the provisions of the Bill to behaviour last seen in Nazi Germany. The attack came ahead of a debate on the Bill in the House of Lords.

Labour peer Lord Robert Winston, a fertility expert, criticised the cardinal's comments, saying they were not constructive. He also pointed out the Catholic Church remained silent over Nazi experiments during the Second World War.