Several weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting the president of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco. The occasion was a black tie dinner hosted by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), on whose board of directors I am proud to serve. Dr. Pacheco was there to receive the aptly named Kolbe Prize for Peace in recognition of his leadership at the United Nations in the ongoing debate over human cloning.
Dr. Pacheco was chosen as the first recipient of this prestigious prize because of the courage and leadership that he and his country — a country barely the size of Maryland — have displayed in the tight to ban the cloning and killing of tiny human beings. Costa Rica was the original sponsor of a resolution introduced in the U.N. General Assembly calling for a comprehensive ban on all forms of human cloning.
The award was presented to Dr. Pacheco by Austin Ruse, the chairman of the Kolbe Prize for Peace Nominating Committee, and president of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute. Dr. Pacheco, who was a well-known physician before he ran for public office, said in response: “As a medical doctor, I believe in science, but in science with principles; science within ethical boundaries, with ethical norms that guide the search for knowledge. As a scientist myself, I believe and support fully the development of biotechnology, insofar as it does not violate human dignity.”
President Pacheco’s initiative has gained the support of the United States and a number of EU countries, along with dozens of other countries around the globe. With the total votes numbering more than half of the General Assembly, the resolution now appears certain to win passage when the U.N. reconvenes this fall. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N, Stuart Holliday read a letter from President George W. Bush congratulating President Pacheco for the work that led to his receiving the prestigious award.
As the event drew to a close, my only regret was that Father Marx was not there to enjoy it. He provided the inspiration (and the funding) to found C-FAM back in the late nineties. He was convinced that the pro-life, pro-family movement needed a watchdog at the U.N. to warn us when anti-life initiatives are being considered. In supporting efforts to ban all human cloning, C-FAM is doing him proud.
