Delivered on January 15, 2006, Melana

talks about "The Ethics of Stem Cell Research"  

We hope you enjoy reading her sermons and

wish you would join us each Sunday to

hear the new one in person.

 

 The Ethics of Stem Cell Research                           Luke 6:6-11

 

        The Bible was written a long time ago when technology and medical science were non-existent.  Therefore, no matter how long we pore over the text, we will not find anything that directly addresses the myriad of ethical issues that are raised nearly daily by current medical research.  Questions about what constitutes life, how long should life be prolonged and what constitutes death.  The Bible may not give us any specific answers, but surely by reading the text as a whole and understanding our own belief about God's desires for humanity, we can gain insight into understanding how to make some of these choices.

 

        For today's text I picked the story of Jesus healing a man's withered hand on the Sabbath.  The scribes and Pharisees were looking for something to use as an accusation against Jesus, so they were hoping he would heal the man and they could show that he was breaking the law.  Jesus had just taught in the synagogue, which meant that he was up in front of the whole congregation, and he knew what the leaders were thinking.  Yet, he asked the man to come stand beside him.  Then he asked the leaders, the scribes and Pharisees whether it was lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?  He looked around at their agitated faces and saw that no one was going to speak.  He told the man to stretch out his hand, which he did and it was restored.  Luke says that the scribes and Pharisees were filled with fury and began to plot against Jesus - because they were more caught up in the letter of the law than in what God intended by the law.

 

        This text and others like it remind us that God cares for people and wants them to experience healing and wholeness.  It is that reading of the Bible that informs my understanding of the ethics of stem cell research.  Let me begin by saying that this is a very complicated issue with tremendous ethical questions attached to very promising properties for healing.  What I will attempt to do is give you an overview of the topic and the ethical questions attached.  My agenda is not to tell you what is correct or right, because we each have to make that decision on our own.  I will tell you the current standing of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and where I currently stand on the issue based on my own faith and reading of the Bible.  Then I hope you will spend some time considering your own viewpoint, which may be diametrically opposed to those I have shared with you.

 

        The real point is that this issue will only continue to get bigger and it is important, as Christians, that we learn to make ethical decisions based on our own faith grounding and on our own intellectual philosophy.  In a year or so, you may be asked to vote on whether or not stem cell research should be funded by the state and you need to be able to make an informed decision about it.

 

So, here we go.

 

        First, a definition of stem cells:  a stem cell is a "blank" cell that can make exact copies of itself indefinitely. Stem cells can become specific cells that do specific jobs - heart muscle cells that pump blood, nerve cells that carry messages from the brain through the body, blood cells that carry oxygen through the body.  Stem cell research lead to a cure for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, type 1 diabetes, spinal cord injury, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cancer and vision and hearing problems.

 

        There are two types of stem cells - embryonic and adult.  Embryonic stem cells come from embryos and this is where the majority of the controversy over the research enters.  The two best ways to get embryonic stem cells are both fraught with the huge questions of when life begins.  Embryonic stem cells can be taken from aborted fetuses or from fertilized embryos that are left over from in vitro fertilization.  

 

        Taking stem cells from aborted fetuses raises the question about the appropriateness of abortion in the first place.  The Presbyterian Church (USA) has continually affirmed a woman's right to choose and has said that stem cells could be taken from aborted fetuses, as long as the child was not conceived in order to get the stem cells.  The denomination is clear that the ethical questions are complex, but the committee that wrote the statement and the General Assembly of 2001 agreed, that fetal stem cells held such promise that it was difficult to deny access to them.

 

The crux of the Assembly's statement is:

 

Therefore, the 213th General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), affirms the use of fetal tissue and embryonic tissue for vital research. Our respect for life includes respect for the embryo and fetus, and we affirm that decisions about embryos and fetuses need to be made with responsibility. Therefore, we believe that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and other faith groups should educate their members in making these very difficult ethical decisions. With careful regulation, we affirm the use of human stem cell tissue for research that may result in the restoring of health to those suffering from serious illness. We affirm our support for stem cell research, recognizing that this research moves to a new and challenging frontier. We recognize the need for continuing, informed public dialogue and equitable sharing of information of the results of stem cell research. It is only with such public dialogue and information sharing that our diverse society can build a foundation for responsible movement toward this frontier that offers enormous hope and challenge. (Minutes, p. 463)

 

        The committee did have a more difficult time affirming in vitro embryos for use in stem cell research because such embryos still hold the potential for life.  Potential for life raises a strong ethical question.  When couples use in vitro fertilization, many more embryos are made than are usually necessary for conception.  These embryos can be frozen so that the couple can have another child, or they can be "adopted" by another couple, or they can be destroyed.  Many couples do not wish to have other couples use their embryos for many different emotional reasons, so what is to be done with embryos after the couple has had all the children they plan to have?

 

        It is my own opinion, and the opinion of many in the medical community, that these embryos provide a wonderful opportunity to provide an enriched life for many different people.  Stem cells can be reproduced many times over and used for several different procedures.  The potential life that exists within the embryo would be carried on through the person who received life-changing treatment.  In my mind it is much like the idea of donating organs so that life can be passed to another.

 

        Adult stem cell research brings about a totally different ethical question - one that deals with cloning.  The power of adult stem cells is that a person could donate their own cells and avoid the possibility of rejection.  Stem cells from the bone marrow could be taken and manipulated to become cells that would heal the heart - and no rejection of foreign cells would occur.  This process also leads to the possibility of cloning an adult human being, which is a tremendous ethical difficulty.  

 

        For me, and this is my opinion and I hope you will discover your own opinion, the possibilities of transforming someone's life with stem cell research are tremendous and embryonic and adult stem cell research should be funded by the government.  It seems most likely that the first place stem cells would be used is in the treatment of Parkinson's.  Stem cells have already been used to form the neural cells needed to promote dopamine and seratonin production, the things needed to combat Parkinson's disease.  Stem cells could be used to form pancreatic cells to produce insulin and would cure type 1 diabetes and stop the many side effects that occur from it.  People could regain eyesight, be cured of cancer, recover from serious spinal injuries and many other things.  The possibilities are beyond the imagination.

 

        Is it okay to cure people of diseases or are we playing God?  I believe that medical research is a modern miracle and that God has given us the ability to learn new things and use technology.  Now the possibility also exists that some people will use this inappropriately, but does that mean that we shouldn't proceed at all?  I don't think so.  I think we need to be responsible in our use of medical research and that safeguards need to be in place, but the possibilities should not be stopped just because we are afraid someone might use the technology for evil.

 

        I have raised more questions than I have answered.  I told you that I would not give you an answer that is correct.  I hope you will consider these questions and your own understanding of the Bible and your faith and begin to determine where you stand on some of these issues.  There are no easy answers, but as Christians we need to be part of the discussion.

 

© Melana Scruggs 2005

 

 

  

     

    

 

Questions? Comments? Email us!