MANILA, Philippines - A ranking official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) considers immoral the embryonic stem cell therapy reportedly being used by politicians and actors for aesthetic purposes.

In an interview with Radio Veritas, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Bioethics Chairman and Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros said this medical procedure is against the belief of the Church. He said they are still assessing if the same could be said for stem cells from animals.

Pero yung sinasabi nila na pampabata sa mga politician at celebrities na sumailalim sa stem cell therapy ay immoral. Puwede namang ma-improve ang mukha ng isang tao, but it should be moral. Kapag gumamit ka ng immoral ay mali na yun, he said.

Embryo is still a maturing fetus.

He said the CBCP will come out with a pastoral statement regarding the matter once they are able to clarify certain matters with the Department of Health (DOH).

The DOH earlier warned people from using stem cells from aborted babies and human embryos.

The Philippine government will not allow the use of aborted fetuses or human embryosThere is a need to ensure that the biological raw materials are documented and validated and follow infection-free procedures, the DOH earlier said.

There is also a need to know if the materials to be injected came from animal or human tissues, it added.

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Stem cell therapy is immoral - bishop