Procter & Gamble Study Policy Spurs Complaint

CINCINNATI — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is criticizing a new Procter & Gamble Co. research policy that does not ban use of stem cells taken from human embryos.

P&G; does not use human embryo cells and has no plans to do so, but its new policy, which went into effect in October, does not rule out their use, a company spokesman said.

The archdiocese’s newspaper published a statement from Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk saying the policy is “a misuse of human life no matter how praiseworthy its intent might be.”

The church does not object to research on stem cells from consenting adults, but it says using embryo or fetal tissue is morally wrong.

Stem cells form in the first days of embryonic development, and later differentiate into the many types of cells needed to form organs and other tissues.

The unspecialized stem cells also are found in some adult tissues.