( dpa )- The British government come under further pressure Saturday to allow a free vote in parliament on controversial legislation which would allow medical researchers to use animal and human embryos together.
Scottish Roman Catholic leader cardinal Keith O'Brien had already called the idea "monstrous". He was backed Saturday by Welsh Catholic Archbishop Peter Smith, who issued an urgent call for MPs to be allowed a free vote and not be subjected to government orders.
Government ministers have defended the legislation, saying such research could ultimately save lives. Cells using cultures of hybrid human and animal embryos, it is argued, could combat serious disease.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said it was right to push through the law, telling the BBC the legislation would be "to the potential benefit of many people in this country."
Bradshaw, responding to criticism, said on BBC radio: "If it was about...creating babies for spare parts or raiding dead people's tissue, then there would be justification for a free vote. But it's not about those things."
From a religious point of view, he said, it "seems right" that the "God-given powers of science" should be put to use.
But in addition to MPs, some government ministers are also opposed to the legislation, including Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and Defence Secretary Des Browne, who are both Roman Catholics.
Archbishop Smith said many MPs had a "moral dilemma" over the bill. "We seem to be moving into a sphere where we are actually taking on the role of the creation of life. This is a matter which is clearly affecting many MPs," he told the BBC.