From LifeDate - Spring 2007.

Life Down Under

While on vacation in December 2006, I had the distinct pleasure of speaking on stem cell research and cloning at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lyons, Australian Capital Territory—an opportunity made possible through Dr. Rob Pollnitz of Lutherans for Life (Australia), a ministry of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

The talk was timely as the Australian Senate had recently voted to overturn a ban on human cloning (soon followed by the House of Representatives). Prior to the vote, newspaper columnist Miranda Devine wrote:

It’s ironic that the most passionate proponents of embryonic cloning are women . . . Yet where will scientists get the thousands of human eggs they need for experiments? Few women will line up for debilitating hyper-ovulation hormones just to donate eggs for ethically questionable research . . . egg shortages will leave women open to exploitation and will raise the unsavory prospect of harvesting eggs from dead women or aborted female foetuses.¹

The vote happened in spite of the fact that the leaders of the three main political parties were all opposed to lifting the ban, including the Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, who said, "I find it very difficult to support a legal regime which allows creation of a form of human life with the single purpose of allowing the conduct of experimentation."²

At my presentation was a woman who had just applied for a job with the oversight committee for stem cell research and cloning firms in Australia. She was glad to have her convictions against embryonic stem cell research and human cloning strengthened—and for a glimpse at potential abuses.

It was an exciting time to visit Australia and share God’s Word on life issues. I am thankful for the opportunity!

1. Miranda Devine, "Embryonic imbroglio," The Sun-Herald (Sydney), Dec 3, 2006.

2. Mark Davis and Mark Metherell, "Embryo cloning gets the go-ahead," The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney), Dec 7, 2006.