God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning

by Waters, Brent

• ISBN13: 9780878409983
• ISBN10: 087840998X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS

Summary

Discussions and debates over the medical use of stem cells and cloning have always had a religious component. But there are many different religious voices. This anthology on how religious perspectives can inform the difficult issues of stem cell research and human cloning is essential to the discussion. Contributors reflect the spectrum of Christian responses, from liberal Protestant to evangelical to Roman Catholic. The noted moral philosopher Laurie Zoloth offers a Jewish approach to cloning, and Sondra Wheeler contributes her perspective on both Jewish and Christian understandings of embryonic stem cell research. In addition to the discussions found here, "God and the Embryo includes a series of official statements on stem cell research and cloning from religious bodies, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America. "Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry," from the statement of the President's Council on Bioethics, concludes the book. The debates and the discussions will continue, but for anyone interested in the nuances of religious perspectives that make their important contributions to these ethically challenging and important dialectics, "God and Embryo is an invaluable resource.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(6)
Ronald Cole-Turner
PART ONE Frameworks
Religion Meets Research	7	(12)
Ronald Cole-Turner
What Is the Appropriate Contribution of Religious Communities in the Public Debate on Embryonic Stem Cell Research?	19	(10)
Brent Waters
The Ethics of Human Stem Cell Research	29	(38)
Gene Outka
PART TWO Embryos
Does the Human Embryo Have a Moral Status?	67	(10)
Brent Waters
Is a Human Embryo a Human Being?	77	(11)
James C. Peterson
Principles and Politics: Beyond the Impasse over the Embryo	88	(10)
Ronald Cole-Turner
To Be Willing to Kill What for All One Knows Is a Person Is to be Willing to Kill a Person	98	(13)
Robert Song
PART THREE Research
A Plea for Beneficence: Reframing the Embryo Debate	111	(20)
Ted Peters
Gaymon Bennett
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Ethics in the Face of Uncertainty	131	(10)
Kevin T. Fitzgerald
Freedoms, Duties, and Limits: The Ethics of Research in Human Stem Cells	141	(11)
Laurie Zoloth
Talking Like Believers: Christians and Jews in the Embryonic Stem Cell Debate	152	(71)
Sondra Wheeler
Appendices
A: Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells	163	(9)
Pontifical Academy for Life
B: Embryonic Stem Cell Research in the Perspective of Orthodox Christianity	172	(5)
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America
C: Urgent Action Alert: Urge Senators to Support Complete Ban on Human Cloning	177	(2)
United Methodist Church
D: Resolution: On Human Embryonic and Stem Cell Research	179	(2)
Southern Baptist Convention
E: Support for Federally Funded Research on Embryonic Stem Cells	181	(4)
United Church of Christ
F: Overture 01-50. On Adopting a Resolution Enunciating Ethical Guidelines for Fetal Tissue and Stem Cell Research--From the Presbytery of Baltimore	185	(5)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
G: A Theologian's Brief on the Place of the Human Embryo within the Christian Tradition, and the Theological Principles for Evaluating
Its Moral Status	190	(14)
H: Cloning Research, Jewish Tradition and Public Policy: A Joint Statement by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America	204	(2)
I: Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry	206	(17)
The President's Council on Bioethics
Contributors	223	(2)
Index	225