St. Joseph supports alternative ALS research in ice bucket challenge

Citing moral objections to embryonic stem cell research, one school in Conway is opting for a different approach to the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ice bucket challenge.

Instead of donating to the ALS Association, which utilizes embryonic stem cell research, St. Joseph School is sending its donations to the Saint John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City, Iowa, a research organization that calls itself pro-life.

Nicole Rappold, development director at St. Joseph, said the fundraising efforts toward ALS research are going to an organization that ethically uses adults rather than embryos to research potential regenerative medication.

In order to have the embryonic stem cell, you would have to have an abortion, Rappold said.

ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease, is a neurological disease that attacks nerve cells, causing a gradual decline in motor neurons necessary to carry out basic movements of the arms, legs and body.

The Saint John Paul II institutes website states that there is a complete lack of beneficence since there is ultimate harm to the embryo, and there are no safeguards to protect the embryo from harm or an effort to create any benefit to the embryo.

Arkansas Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock affirmed this statement, approving of the ice bucket challenge while also forbidding Catholic schools from donating to the ALS Association on moral grounds. St. Joseph operates as a school of the Diocese of Little Rock.

Following a barrage of inquiry, the ALS Association released a statement Aug. 26 to answer questions about its stem cell research policy.

The ALS Association primarily funds adult stem cell research, the statement reads. Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC)

Other Catholic schools across the U.S. are aligning similarly against the ALS Association, focusing their attention on faith-based organizations that align with the standards of the Catholic Church.

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St. Joseph supports alternative ALS research in ice bucket challenge