Blog #17: Interview 1102

1. What is the view of stem cell research in the church?
1. This is the official view "In 2004, the church’s governing body, the General Convention, declared itself in favor of stem cell research as long as the embryos used would have been destroyed otherwise, the embryos were not created solely for research purposes and the embryos were not bought or sold" The Archives of the Episcopal Church, The Acts of Convention 1976-2006, “Support Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research“

2. Why is their view positive or negative?

2. My understanding is that this is a positive view because, and with the provision that the stem cells in question would be destroyed otherwise, that it is of such benefit, that we would be negligent not to be engaged in such research.

3. In my research, citizens of the church say it's immoral to study or perform stem cell research, why do they believe this?

3. I think many conservative Christians have very rigid opinions on sexuality, abortion, right to life issues, human dignity, and scientific inquiry in general. I think the rigid viewpoint on many of these issues mentioned often times confuse meaningful conversation about scientific inquiry, and the role of scientific inquiry when it has to do with human biology, particularly stem cells that come from embryos. I believe they would consider the destruction of an embryo as tantamount to abortion. On the other hand more open minded and liberal traditions with in the church are more willing to engage in some dialogue, and entertain some flexibility about scientific inquiry in light of particular contexts--in this case the value of stem cell research using already unused and soon to be discarded embryonic material.


4. Is there anything scientists could do to change their mind?

4. I think the more the scientific community can engage people in the clear articulation of the facts (what the research is intended for, and where the stem cells come from) the more convincing they will be. I also think the religious community bears a burden to be in dialogue with the scientific community in order to highlight the moral issues surrounding debilitating diseases and injuries that could be alleviated through stem cell research.