wfn.org | Adventist Ethicist Reacts to Embryo Stem Cell Research Proposal

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

January 2, 2000
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
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APD@stanet.ch
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Adventist Ethicist Reacts to Embryo Stem Cell Research 
Proposal

Loma Linda, California, USA.      Guidelines for embryo stem 
cell research proposed by the United States National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) raise complex ethical issues 
deserving careful consideration from a Christian perspective, 
says Seventh-day Adventist ethicist Dr. Gerald R. Winslow.  

The proposed NIH project, announced in December 1999, 
would explore the potential for using animal or human 
"master cells"-cells capable of developing into any kind of 
cell in the body-for treating a wide range of diseases, 
including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and juvenile diabetes. 
Opponents of the research object to the scientific use of 
pre-implanted human embryos, which have been originally 
developed as part of in vitro fertilisation programs.

Winslow, Professor of Biomedical and Clinical Ethics at Loma 
Linda University in California, acknowledges the controversial 
nature of the debate but urges Christians to "avoid the 
simplistic answers characteristic of bumper stickers and to 
search more deeply for the principles that best reflect Biblical 
faith and the love of God."

Although he notes that the Adventist Church has not yet 
taken an official position on the issue of stem cell research, 
Winslow points out that the Church has already developed a 
considered, nuanced position on prenatal life and Christian 
ethics that gives guidance in this area.

"Earlier Adventist statements on abortion and assisted 
reproduction make it clear that Adventists are committed to 
the protection of prenatal human life," says Winslow. 
"Adventists believe that human life, at all stages of 
development, should be treated with respect." He adds, 
however, that within the Adventist guidelines already set
down, "stem cell research may be ethically permissible if 
proper safeguards are put in place."  Winslow cautions that 
articulating any comprehensive position on stem cell studies 
requires "careful consideration not only from the perspective 
of scientific and medical possibilities but also from the 
viewpoint of Christian principles."

The proposed NIH stem cell guidelines prohibit the 
development of human embryos specifically for research 
purposes and would require the informed consent of donors 
before unwanted embryos, developed for in vitro 
fertilization, are used. 

"The NIH proposal to open the way for federal support of 
research in this area," says Winslow, "should prompt all 
Christians to reexamine their convictions about prenatal life 
in general and embryonic human life in particular."

(For further reference see the Adventist Church's "Guidelines 
on Abortion," adopted by the Annual Council in 1992; 
"Considerations on Assisted Human Reproduction" accepted 
in 1994 by the General Conference's Administrative 
Committee; and "Birth Control: A Seventh-day Adventist 
Statement of Consensus," voted at the 1999 Annual
Council in Silver Spring, Maryland.  These statements can be 
viewed at the official Adventist Church website at: 
www.adventist.org.) (11/2000)