VATICAN CITY, APR 3,2000 (ZENIT.org).- The human embryo has become one of the

 most exposed targets to the benefits and dangers of the extraordinary

 evolution of bio-genetic science. John Paul II made this point when he

 received the participants of the 16th International Congress, organized

 by the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics of "La Sapienza"

 University of Rome, this morning.

 The Pope's address stemmed from the theme of the Congress: "Fetus as a

 Patient." In reflecting on the topic, the Pope explained to the

 scientists and doctors that the fetus has "full human dignity, a dignity

 which the unborn child possesses from the moment of conception."

 This is a fundamental Christian moral value, which the Church has had to

 proclaim more forcefully over the last decades, characterized, as the

 Pope himself stated, by "undermined or distorted" views on the meaning

 of the humanity of the embryo, and the promulgation of "laws which

 introduce scientifically unfounded qualitative stages in the development

 of conceived life."

 Moreover, the Holy Father continued firmly, the techniques of artificial

 procreation, which are "apparently at the service of life, actually open

 the door to new attacks on life." As he already made clear in

 "Evangelium Vitae," they are "morally unacceptable," because they

 separate procreation from the fully human context of the act of conjugal

 love. These techniques are especially morally evil when procedures of

 "embryonic reduction" are used, that is, "the elimination of some

 fetuses when multiple conceptions take place at one time."

 This procedure, which in the end does no more than apply an artificial

 selection through abortion of several conceived embryos, is "gravely

 illicit when multiple conceptions occur in the normal course of marital

 relations, but it is doubly reprehensible when they are the result of

 artificial procreation."

 For the Pope, the life of the embryo surpasses every kind of conjecture.

 Independently of the fact that the embryos might have been the fruit of

 natural or artificial procreation, "the child conceived must be

 absolutely respected. The life of the fetus must be protected, defended

 and nurtured in the mother's womb because of its inherent dignity, a

 dignity which belongs to the embryo and is not something conferred or

 granted by others, whether the genetic parents, the medical personnel or

 the State."

 When speaking about life or death, we cannot stoop to compromises. Life

 must be safeguarded as an absolute value, "an incomparable gift of the

 creative love of God." Therefore, the Holy Father called on

 gynecologists and obstetricians to defend the health of all new life in

 their work, always being "inspired by a clear recognition of the dignity

 proper to every human being."

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