Christian Worldview Concepts

What is at Stake in the Stem Cell Debate?

Extending Life

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles addresses the moral issues involved in the current debate of stem cell research. This first article provides an overview of the debate. Subsequent articles will delve into the science of both embryonic and adult stem cells, and deal with the moral arguments used to defend the use of human embryos.

By now, any reader of this article has likely heard of and formed an opinion about using stem cells from human embryos. Given the wildly optimistic claims of medical researchers, the star power of celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, Mary Tyler Moore and the political clout of secular ethicists, the American public is solidly on record in support of stem cell research. According to numerous opinion polls, roughly sixty percent of Americans support embryonic stem research.

The debate over using stem cells from human embryos has grown in both its volume and in its scope. There is much more at stake in this contest than whether or not we will use human embryos for medical purposes. I believe this particular debate has pushed to the surface a clash of values and a clash of worldviews whose outcome will determine what sort of future our children and grandchildren will face.

Since the Fall, humans have sought ways to control the unpredictable or undesirable circumstances of life, especially those that contribute to a difficult or shorter lifespan. Despite the wide variety of difficulties that life can bring, we humans generally enjoy being here on Earth. We tend to like life and desire its continuance.

Guiding us in our efforts to extend life has been a general adherence to the principle of primum non nocere (above all, do no harm). This guiding principle has served medicine and medical research well in the two millennia that the Hippocratic Oath guided physicians. However, this ancient principle appears to be at odds with some of the ambitious aims of modern secularized medicine.