The Catholic perspective Catholic Church doctrine related to genetic engineering lobbyists — more than embryonic stem cell research. Many people have ethical concerns that harvesting stem cells (which have the ability to self-renew, or to divide without becoming specialized) from a human embryo is an immoral destruction of life. Yet many scientists believe that stem cells could pave the way for great medical advances to enhance our health and save lives. Debate over the issue, and a long-standing ban on federal funds for stem-cell research (which was overturned by President Obama) has raged for years and garnered much press attention. One vexing issue related to this is the possibility of stemcell research leading to the ability to use one’s own cells to regenerate aging body parts. The professors point out that someday we could be able to extend our lives by reprogramming genetic material and to maintain and generate cells to guarantee very long lives. A tantalizing thought, to be sure. Yet this sits in direct opposition to Catholic doctrine on natural law and would upend fundamental Christian faith and theological concepts that we will live with God forever in the next life, not in this one. It also challenges basic Christian doctrines of sin, the Fall, death, and salvation, as Stober and Yarri point out in their book. That doesn’t mean research should be stopped, according to Jonathan D. Moreno, professor of medical ethics and the history of science at the University of Pennsylvania. “There has always been long-standing anxiety about science and where science is taking us, and you can’t dismiss those concerns,” Moreno says. But if there is a potential for benefiting people, he adds, it is worth it to push ahead “with fear and trembling.” One area of genetics that is booming is the commercialization of DNA testing, which is making the process faster, cheaper, and more detailed than ever before. For $999 the California company Navigenics will provide a comprehensive genetic screening, using a saliva sample, to let you know if you have a predisposition for a range of diseases, from breast and colon cancer to Alzheimer’s and Chron’s disease, melanoma, glaucoma and even obesity. (The company says it will only test for diseases that medicine can do something about.) Another genetic testing company, 23andme, screens for 137 health issues and traits, including propensity for
and manipulating DNA has been around for decades. It remains the subject of regular discussion within the Church as science continues to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through advances in technology. Donum Vitae, the Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation issued in 1987, addresses biomedical issues from the Roman Catholic Church’s perspective. It is clear in stating that gene therapy is morally acceptable, but it distinguishes between therapeutic manipulation and manipulation that simply alters the human genome for purposes other than curing genetic disease. Gene therapy is a good, while genetic enhancement is morally troubled. The Church also makes a distinction between gene therapy that is done at the somatic level, or just in the diseased cells, and gene therapy that changes the genetics of the person so that it is a germ-line, or inheritable change. Gene therapy at the tissue or organ level is acceptable. Gene therapy that changes the sperm or egg, forcing the change on offspring, is not morally acceptable. Genetic manipulation, said John Paul II, becomes arbitrary and unjust when it reduces life to an object, and when it forgets that it is dealing with a human subject, capable of intelligence and freedom, and worthy of respect. “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves ‘the creative action of God’, and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being” (Evangelium Vitae). “A strictly therapeutic intervention whose explicit objective is the healing of various maladies such as those stemming from chromosomal defects will, in principle, be considered desirable, provided it is directed to the true promotion of the personal wellbeing of the individual without doing harm to his integrity or worsening his conditions of life. Such an intervention would indeed fall within the logic of the Christian moral tradition,” said the Pope. Alvernia University Magazine
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