When people depart from an ethic that respects human life, they postulate other ethical propositions to indicate their principles. The ethical guidelines of the EU Commission last July agreed that embryos could be killed for research but piously stipulated that they would only be embryos leftover from IVF. It stated it was opposed to cloning and parental permission would have to be sought. It also claimed it was justified under the article on freedom of research in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This would have justified the American researchers on syphilis previously mentioned. In the light of all our laws, our Constitution and the views of both Houses of the Oireachtas it is surprising that we would support any research as specified under COM 390/2003. It was a shock that Ireland indicated support for such unethical guidelines.