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BY WALTER SHROPSHIRE JR.
Special to the UMConnection

Every person is made up of more than a trillion cells, and each cell contains DNA, which holds all the genetic information needed to construct that person.

In recent years, genetic science has developed at a dizzying pace, promising advancements to heal diseases or even change the nature of what it means to be human.

While Christians embrace using available technologies to alleviate suffering and disease, these technologies, many believe, need to be consistent with biblical and ethical beliefs. Because Christians believe nothing can be separated from God or is beyond God?s love, good theology demands that the consequences of scientific research and new biotechnologies be fully considered before they become widespread.

Last fall the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) published a carefully crafted policy, 'Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Policy on Human Biotechnologies.'

This policy deals with the church?s appropriate response to regulating biotechnology.

The statement lists five key challenges for church engagement: stem cell research, disabilities, conduct of the biotechnology industry, new genetics or old eugenics, and concern for the fabric of the commonweal. It presents the theological and ethical challenges in each of these areas, followed by recommendations for specific action by NCC member congregations, both clergy and laity, as well as health care professionals, medical practitioners and researchers.

The NCC policy document and a study gbwc_superusere may be obtained from www.ncccusa.org/biotechnology.

The NCC policy encourages church members to become better informed about all the issues involved and encourages Christians of all denominations to 'resist scientific reductionism and religious fundamentalism, each absolutist in its own way.'

According to the NCC documents, 'no area related to human applications of biotechnologies is more divisive with the Christian community at present than the matter of stem cell research.'

A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be coaxed into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body (for example, blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc). Some researchers regard them as offering the greatest potential for the alleviation of human suffering since the development of antibiotics. More than 100 million Americans and two billion others worldwide suffer from diseases that may eventually be treated more effectively with stem cells or even cured. These include Parkinson?s disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

Stem cells can be extracted from very young human embryos, typically from surplus frozen embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures at fertility clinics.

However, many Christians who oppose abortion also oppose stem cell research, believing that life begins at conception. Others also object to the process they believe changes a potential person into an instrument.

Federal law now limits embryonic stem cell research. Some scientists have expressed concern that these government-imposed limitations will have serious consequences on economic and health-care practices in the United States.

Because the Christian community has such varied opinions on this issue, the National Council of Churches 'neither endorses nor condemns experimentation on human embryos and takes no position on the use of human embryonic stem cells for research purposes.'

However, it does stress the importance of Christians being informed.

To learn how informed United Methodists are on these issues and how non-church goers think about stem cell research, I made a simple survey of laity and clergy. Of those responding to this small sample of about 50 people, only two had even heard of the 'Fearfully and Wonderfully Made' policy. Of these two, only one had read the document and was informed about its contents.

The NCC policy statement also specifically encourages health care professionals to be better informed about the ethical and religious issues involved in the application of biotechnology so that they may be better able to inform patients of options and considerations.

A United Methodist physician stated that he only gained information, as most laity do, from the media. Nor are his colleagues at the hospital much better informed about the potential religious and ethical issues involved. They rely upon professional journals to educate them about the development and availability of specific interventions derived from stem cell research to 'alleviate human illness and suffering.' But their specialized medical training does not equip them with the ability to evaluate potential treatments from an ethical or religious perspective.

Almost all the survey respondents indicated their primary concern was that of 'informed consent' about the use of biotechnology. Especially important was the sharing of individual genetic patient data. The potential for abuse of these data by insurance companies and future employers is hazardous.

Similarly, those surveyed uniformly had reservations about patenting such biotechnology. Methods and techniques may need to be patented to encourage the funding of researchers, but justice issues demand equitable availability of these potentially healing techniques to all.

The scientific consensus at present is that there are few results from stem cell research that have application at present to provide cures for specific illnesses. However, the scientific community is overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing this line of research into the unknown. How will the world know if stem cell biotechnology can alleviate human suffering if the research is not performed?

Only one person I contacted reported ever hearing a sermon that referred to stem cells or biotechnology; yet, all indicated they would welcome such a sermon if the preacher has 'sufficient understanding and insight.'

It?s obvious. Biotechnology will change significantly health care possibilities for everyone. As people of faith, we must, in the words of the National Council of Churches, 'challenge the notion that scientific and technological experts control the discussion simply by virtue of their expertise. To be a responsible church, members must be fully informed, equipped and empowered to serve the common good.'

The Rev. Walter Shropshire Jr. is a retired Elder. He teaches a course on science and religion at Wesley Theological Seminary, in Washington.