Biotech Update – Are we in a "Brave New World"?

Stem cells are viewed under many lenses. Beyond the laboratory lens, the political lens and the moral lens offer their scrutiny. We gratefully acknowledge scientists like Dr. Robert Weise and Dr. David Prentice who keep us updated on all such perspectives. (Abridged articles follow—complete articles can be found at www.lutheransforlife.org.)

With the help of such writers, LFL desires to look at issues like stem cell research under the Logos (Word) Lens because, ultimately, what we support and what we oppose must be based solely upon the view God gives us through His Word:

Creation: The creation of life belongs to God. (Job 12:10, Psalm 139:13-14) Technologies that help overcome imperfections in His procreative process brought by sin (i.e. treatments to unblock a fallopian tube) may be considered blessings from God. Technologies that circumvent God’s procreative process (i.e. cloning of human beings) must be opposed.

Marriage: Marriage was instituted by God as the context for His procreative process. (Genesis 2:24) Technologies that ignore this context (i.e. the use of donor egg or sperm) fall outside of God’s will.

First Commandment: The desire to cure disease and enhance our lives is good and "built into" humans whom God intended to live forever. But cures must never be done "at all costs" or we run the risk of trusting technology for more help and hope than we do our God. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Fifth Commandment: Technologies that intentionally destroy human life assault the value and dignity God gives to life. God calls us to "help and befriend" every human being, especially the tiniest and most vulnerable. (Matthew 25:40)

Redemption: Every human being is someone for whom Jesus died and rose again. He desires all to be saved, baptized into His death and resurrection. God assumed human flesh as an embryo from the moment of conception. (Luke 1:31) This gives value to all human flesh from that moment.

Theology of the Cross: To see death as a "friend" and believe that nothing good can ever come from human suffering denies the reality of the cross of Jesus Christ. God is not only present in the lives of those He has redeemed, He is at work according to His loving purpose. (Romans 8:28-39)

Be informed on the latest technologies, but always give the ultimate and final authority to what is revealed through the "Logos Lens."

Technologies that are developed and used for human care and improvement are called "biotechnologies." Unfortunately, these can be abused. The underlying cause of the abuse is the sin-nature in us that turns biotechnology into an idol. The resultant abuse of biotechnology yields power—and power seeks control.

The abortion industry—lead by Planned Parenthood—is the prime example of the abuse of biotechnology. In fact, many biotechnologies have enhanced the abortion industry’s ability to promote personal "choice" and the freedom to kill and not care. Genetic amniocentesis can be useful to parents who want to know if they will be giving birth to a child with disabilities in order that they may be better prepared to care for him or her. However, this and any other biotechnology are sinfully abused when they are used to destroy human life when the child in the womb, the person who is permanently unconscious, or the embryonic human being is viewed either as burden or a commodity. Biotechnology then becomes an idol that is life-taking and not life-caring.

Biotechnology developed under the principles of "the end justifies the means," and Materialistic Darwinism [evolution]—focused on the presupposition that "death is natural" and the destruction of unwanted "spare embryos" is simply putting them out of their frozen misery—point to the ongoing debate in theology and science: "what does it mean to be human in light of this ‘Brave New World’?"

Here’s a brief overview of what is happening in the biotech world. We can be more proactive as Christians as we witness about Christ to our neighbor!

On January 11, 2007, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research. A similar bill was introduced and passed in the Senate called the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. The House of Representatives will vote on this bill within the next few weeks. President Bush has promised to veto this bill.

The embryonic stem cell research band wagon is picking up steam and supporters on both sides of the aisle. California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, and New Jersey have either laws or Governor-designated funds favoring this research. Remember, there is no federal law banning human cloning altogether. Human cloning is used in the creation of embryos in order that they can be destroyed for the retrieval of their stem cells. The web site for information on which states provide funding for embryonic and fetal research is www.ncsl.org/programs/health/genetics/embfet.htm.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick proposed May 8, 2007, that the state invest $1,000,000,000 in the biotechnology industry and challenge California as a center for stem cell research, primarily research that creates and destroys embryonic human beings. It is all about money!

The pure and applied science of embryonic stem cell research is not interested in the moral issues of life and death, let alone any biblical concerns that life is being created to be destroyed. They are interested in the results and the money driving the research that will produce the results they have hypothesized about. And so, they play their trump card—emotion. Of course, no rational human being enjoys seeing another human suffer because there is little to nothing that can be done to treat their condition. Hearing the stories of Michael J. Fox and others, many ask "How could anyone say ‘no’ to embryonic stem cell research?"

Always at the top of the list of scientists who support embryonic stem cell research is their definition of human embryo. Hence, for public policy and experimental reasons, the term pre-embryo (the embryo from day one through day 14 when the nervous system begins to take its shape in the form of the neural tube or primitive streak) was introduced in this country in 1986. For many researchers, the appearance of the primitive streak is the beginning of a "potential human being," although not with the same moral value as an infant or newborn.

To the contrary, the embryo is a human being with God-given potential—given its value and worth by the incarnate Christ who became like one of us in every way, yet without sin, He took on our sin and was raised for our justification. (Also, the term "pre-embryo" does not exist in the scientific discipline of embryology.)

Through the playing on of emotions and redefining words, many are being tricked into supporting the creation and destruction of embryonic human beings. Remember, to date there are no published results of any treatment or cure using human embryonic stem cells!

Without a biblical view of original sin and the havoc that it has caused by corrupting our body and soul, mankind will continue to spout "the end justifies the means" at the expense of the salvation of souls. Christians, however, see embryonic human beings as the tiniest and weakest of our neighbors—who in Christ we help, support, and befriend. As Saint Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:33, "just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."

Adult Stem Cells: Real Hope for Patients

by Dr. David Prentice

Adult stem cells are found in virtually every tissue of our body from birth onward—and unlike destructive embryo research, harvesting adult stem cells does not require destruction of the donor. Most recently, scientists at Wake Forest announced that they had isolated stem cells from amniotic fluid and placenta that showed all the characteristics most scientists claim they want in a stem cell (easily obtained, easily grown in the lab, with the ability to form the tissues of the body, yet these stem cells also did not produce any tumors).

Animal studies have shown the ability of adult stem cells to heal damage from diseases such as diabetes, stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, and retinal degeneration.

The biggest news is that adult stem cells have already been used successfully to improve human patient health. While not yet cures in many cases, these early adult stem cell clinical trials have benefited thousands of patients for conditions such as various cancers, multiple sclerosis, lupus and arthritis, and anemias including sickle cell anemia. Adult stem cells have also grown new corneas to restore sight to blind patients, and have helped large numbers of patients repair the damage of heart attacks. Spinal cord injuries have also shown improvement, with patients regaining some movement and sensation, and some even walking again with the aid of braces. Early trials have shown that bone marrow adult stem cells have potential to treat liver disease. And a recent report found that the patient’s own adult stem cells could aid in recovery from juvenile diabetes.

Adult stem cells also have distinct advantages—using the patient’s own stem cells circumvents the problems of immune rejection, and adult stem cells do their repair work without causing tumor formation.

Adult stem cell research holds the real promise of medical advancement—not embryonic stem cells. This research is daily proving capable of helping patients, without moral and political difficulties. If we truly care about suffering patients, we should put our resources behind that research which shows real promise, without crossing ethical lines.