This attitude is totally at odds with the spirit of the Constitution which specifically recognises the right to life of the unborn. It leaves the door open for the Irish pharmaceutical industry to benefit from the destruction of embryos, as long as that destruction takes place elsewhere. Successive Governments have told us that we have a significant voice in Europe so let us take a principled stand on this matter. There is an issue of participation relevant to the fact that it is not proposed to allow embryonic stem cell research in Ireland. This has a specific meaning in ethics. We will be materially participating in unethical research on human embryos if we either contribute to the funding of the research or propose to benefit directly from its results, for example, by using the information gained in our pharmaceutical industry. We will also be formally participating in unethical research on human embryos if we vote in such a way as to allow this research to take place. We must either accept that our vote has some relevance or, alternatively, that it has no relevance. If it has no relevance, then we must question the relevance of our membership of the European Union.