The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation is also against the violation of the human dignity of embryos
On October 18, 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union, as part of the Grand Chamber, made an extremely important decision for modern medical science and biomedical ethics. The basis for the consideration of the case was the complaint of a German scientist, Oliver Brustle, who studies stem cells.
In 1997, Brustle applied for a patent, which concerned the production of isolated and purified neural progenitor cells from embryonic stem cells, as well as their use for the treatment of a number of neurological diseases. However, according to the complaint of the Greenpeace organization, Dr. Brustle's application was found not to comply with the requirements of German legislation, as it involved manipulation of embryonic stem cells. Since patent law issues are regulated, among other things, by acts of the European Union, when considering an appeal, the Supreme Court of Germany decided to seek clarification from the highest judicial body of the Union – the EU Court.
The Court of Justice of the European Union concluded that patenting the use of embryos is associated with a violation of human dignity and, therefore, should not take place.
At the same time, under human embryos, the Court decided to understand any human egg after fertilization, any unfertilized egg into which the nucleus of a mature human cell was moved, as well as any unfertilized egg, the division and subsequent development of which was stimulated by the activation of other genetic mechanisms. Patenting of technologies, from the descriptive documentation of which it follows that their use is associated with the destruction of the human embryo, has also become unacceptable.
The Court's decision is legally binding for all members of the European Union and will undoubtedly be transferred by them into national legislation. Moreover, it is obvious that this decision will have far-reaching consequences for the establishment of a ban on the use of embryonic cells in biomedicine.
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development Veronika Skvortsova notes that "despite the non-binding nature of the decisions of this court for the Russian Federation, the draft federal law "On Biomedical Cell Technologies" developed by the Ministry of Health and Social Development is based on identical European ethics. Thus, in accordance with article 7 of this bill, human cells are used for the preparation of cell lines that are part of cellular products, with the exception of human embryo and fetus body cells, human germ cells."
"The Ministry intends to continue to closely monitor the development of regulation of advanced areas of human knowledge in the European Union, which, according to the Concept of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, is one of the main foreign policy strategic partners of Russia. This will ensure the introduction of high quality and safety standards in medicine in our country," the Deputy Minister emphasizes.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru27.10.2011