About Cecil the Lion vs. abortion

To my friends criticizing the attention given to a lion when babies are being killed: I agree we need a change of heart. I agree that human life is infinitely precious. But I suggest that rather than criticizing the outrage over the lion, which is appropriate (the OT sacrificial system was still concerned with being humane to animals), we should affirm that outrage and think of it as common ground to talk about the preciousness of all life God creates. The apostle Paul looked at the altars in Athens and saw something good in them rather than condemning the Athenians for believing in false gods. He found the good impulse that he had in common with them (they worshiped an unseen god) and capitalized on it.

The Christian and Contraception: My Thoughts

My Tapestry post today: 

Because I coauthored The Contraception Guidebook (Zondervan/Christian Med. Assn), and contraception has been in the news lately, I have received some requests to add my two cents to the contraception conversation. It’s not my favorite topic, but I do have some opinions. And they are moderate, which tends to hack off those at both ends of the spectrum. But here goes.

·      Do I think contraception is of the devil? No. I think it is a gift from God. It can be abused, but that does not make it evil.  

·      Do I think all Christians who choose to use contraception lack trust in God? No.

·      Much oral contraceptive use is about something other than preventing babies. Ask any woman who is doubled over with cramps or has had a laparoscopy for endometriosis or has a serious acne problem or irregular periods. I went on the pill for a while after I lost my seventh pregnancy and then had an ectopic. I did so precisely because I held a high view of life—I didn’t want any more embryos to die in the tomb that was my uterus.

·      Does it bother me that Christians through the ages have generally opposed contraception? No. Some of the methods they opposed were downright unhygienic, and I would have opposed them, too. Does the Bible say anything on the subject? Not specifically. Yes, it says children are a gift from the Lord. But they are not the main gift or the only gift, and using contraception does not necessarily mean one is “refusing the gift.”

·      I see the purpose of marriage as oneness (“two shall become one”—see Genesis 1and Ephesians 5), not reproduction. Reproduction is a gift and a blessing, but not the end goal of marriage. If reproduction were the goal, I would expect to see Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 mentioning a focus on baby making in addition to what he says about sex meeting needs; and I would expect Song of Songs to have at least one reference to the potential for little Shulamites. But instead it's all about pleasure.

·      I think couples can choose to be childless without devaluing marriage or being out of God’s will. Just as some choose not to marry for the sake of the kingdom, people can determine that having children is not the best option for them, all things considered.

·      I think a lot of middle- and upper-class people lack compassion toward lower-class people on the issue of insurance coverage for contraception. Hormones usually require monitoring, and monitoring involves doctors. And doctors cost money. Not everyone has money.  

·      I think it’s offensive when men are the primary commentators on issues that primarily affect women for the same reason that women should not be the primary spokespersons for erectile dysfunction. The ones who have the periods, deal with the endometriosis and cramps, use the tampons and/or pads, take the pills, use the sponges or the Nuva rings…we should be the ones leading this conversation. I’m not at all suggesting men should not weigh in on the topic. But when men are the primary speakers here, they tend to have an instant credibility problem. This topic is one where we should see men and women partnering to speak.

·      When people do speak on the topic, they need to watch their rhetoric. Saying that women wanting insurance coverage for contraception are “helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government”—is offensive. I have taken the pill. I have wanted insurance to cover it. And I did not do either because my libido was out of control or I needed Uncle Sugar. I wanted insurance to cover it so I could afford to keep doing ministry. My insurance covered abortion. It seemed only fair, then, that it also cover meeting my pro-life reproductive needs as well.

·      I despise abortion.  Abortion rates go down when contraceptive use goes up. If we oppose baby-killing, it stands to reason that we should support preventing the creation of unwanted children. We are not enabling people. They are going to have sex, regardless, as the stats have shown. The question is whether they will also conceive. 

·      We should never assume that someone who uses contraception takes a low view of human life. In most cases of which I am aware, people use contraception because they have a high view. They want to avoid abortion, provide for their families, and give the children they do have their love and care. And such choices are not about devaluing life (or materialism, as some accuse).

·      Part of showing mercy to the poor or those less fortunate is helping impoverished people who wish to limit family size have the ability easily to do so.

·      I believe life begins at fertilization and that a zygote, being made in the image of God, is endowed with full rights of personhood. Doing unto others and speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves means defending the human who is too tiny and undeveloped to speak for him- or herself. It is far better to prevent the creation of an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy than to destroy one. The debate is not over when life begins. Even the secular medical books concede that human life begins when the DNA from male and female gametes align. The debate is over whether the fully human zygote is a person and thus has rights of personhood.

·      We cannot assert with confidence that the pill causes abortion. There are a lot of “more sure than right” dogmatic statements being thrown around about this. The same hormone required to make a woman ovulate is what prepares the uterine lining. So if breakthrough ovulation happens, the uterus is probably prepared—which explains why many of us have friends who conceived while on the pill and carried to term. My doctor friends tell me that if the uterine lining were improperly prepared in such cases, we would see a much higher incidence of “uterine attachment” issues with women who have conceived while on the pill. And we just don’t see that.

For my take on whether the pill causes abortion, see this post:   Aspire2 Blog: Does the Pill Cause Abortion?  And then this Tapestry post about pills and abortion. (The journal article a commenter referenced in the latter does not appear to exist.)

·      If Jesus is the TRUTH, we need to have higher standards of storytelling on this issue. But only if we want to be like him. (Sarcasm alert.)

·      Rhythm is actually an effective method when used diligently. (In countries where that’s the only viable option, it’s surprisingly more effective than in the USA.) But I still don’t really recommend it unless the couple is committed to “outercourse.” With the rhythm method, during the one time of the month when a woman typically experiences the most pleasure, intercourse is out. So if the couple is inactive at this time, she may live in a perpetual state of sexual frustration. Thus, it seems that the one method most Christians approve is the only one that expressly contradicts 1 Corinthians 7. Ironic.

·      What do I think about Plan B? It’s complicated. See this post:  Aspire2 Blog: Does Plan B Cause Abortion?

Humans made in the image of God have a responsibility to their Creator and their community to prayerfully seek wisdom about their family building options. Are you wrestling with questions about contraception in your own life? Pray with your spouse, committing your most intimate details to Christ. Do you need to show someone grace on this issue? We do find such a variety of people and opinions in God’s varied pattern book of people, don't we? "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted..." 

Sanctity of Life Sunday

Today is the day the Christian community sets aside to contemplate the sanctity of human life and what we can do to defend the powerless whose human dignity is being violated. The conversation includes beginning-of-life issues such as abortion (including gendercide), embryonic stem cell research, and in vitro fertilization. It includes nuclear bombs, use of arms, active euthanasia, war, the disposability of girls in China, and widows who are expected to commit suicide upon the deaths of their husbands. 

Moving beyond sanctity of life itself, we also consider that"human dignity" is grounded in Genesis 1. That has ramificationsfor...

Sex trafficking

Refusal of hydrating tubes

Human slavery

Rape culture

POW standards

Immigration policy

Homelessness

Hunger

Poverty

Proverbs 31:8–9 (NET)

Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak,

for the legal rights of all the dying.

Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,

and plead the cause of the poor and needy. 

Bioethics in the News

Skills matter.  Research has confirmedwhat patients have long suspected and trainees have long known –the dexterity of a surgeon’s handscan account for much of the differences in how well patients do. (New York Times)

Belgium considering kids’ euthanasialaw. In Belgium, where euthanasia is now legal for peopleover the age of 18, the government is considering extending it to children and adultswith early dementia. Imagine a teen with angst being allowed to get help tocommit suicide. Right. (ABC News)

How much does a patient invegetative state know? An analysis of brainactivity in 21 patients and eight healthy volunteers showed one of the patientscould pick out individual sounds. (BBC)

Fertility: Race matters. Maternal ethnicity is a significant determinant of successfuloutcomes after fertility treatment.  (Medical Xpress)

Too many, too young.
One in every five girls (about 19%) gives birth before sheturns 18 in developing countries. Of the 7.3 million girls who give birth everyyear, 2 million of them are under the age of 14. (CNN)

Progress with breast cancer.
A test that identifies seven classes of breast cancer could beavailable within two years. (BBC)

Curbing drug-induced abortion.
 If a U.S. court decides to hear an appeal in a case aboutdrug-induced abortion, it could clarify how far states can go in restrictingabortions. (The Wall StreetJournal)

Syria polio cases confirmed by WHO.Ten polio cases have been confirmed in Syria, the first confirmed outbreak there in 14years. (The Guardian)

DNA and full disclosure.
A recommendation earlier this year that people who have theirDNA sequenced should be told of certain risk factors, regardless of whetherthey want to know, has sparked an ongoing debate among physicians and ethicists.(Boston Globe)

4 babies, 2 surrogates, 1 set oftwiblings.
A British couple are to becomeparents of two sets of twin babies carried by two Indian surrogate women theyhave never met. Experts say twiblings, or children born to separate surrogatesbut created from the same batch of embryos, are common in India. The four babiesare the result of a commercial surrogacy agreement with a clinic in Mumbai. (BBC)

Bioethics in the News

U.S. measles cases in 2013 may be most in 17 years

The CDC says this year may be the worst for measles in more than a decade. Health officials blame people who refuse to vaccinate their children. (CNN)

Selling the Fantasy of Fertility 

Two former fertility patients tackle the hype related to IVF advertising. The success rates still aren't all that great, even after years of finessing process. (Op-ed, New York TImes) 

Childhood death rates down by 50% since 1990

Still, a staggering 6.6 million children under the age of 5 still died last year, according to UNICEF. A report said nearly half of these were in five countries: Nigeria, Congo, India, Pakistan and China. (Associated Press)

Sex-selection abortions cause of missing girls in India

The U.S. created sex-selection abortions as a population-control strategy, and the result is millions of missing girls in India, China and elsewhere, says a Congressional human rights panel. (Business Standard)

Most doctors oppose physician-assisted suicide, poll finds
A New England Journal of Medicine poll questioned readers about a hypothetical case of physician-assisted suicide and received more than 2,000 valid responses. Roughly two-thirds worldwide, —including 67 percent of replies from the U.S., —said they disapprove of physician-assisted suicide. (Medical Xpress)

Faulty stem cell regulation may contribute to cognitive deficits associated with Down syndrome
The learning and physical disabilities that affect people with Down syndrome may be due at least in part to defective stem cell regulation throughout the body, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.  (Medical Xpress)

Stem cells: Living adult tissue transformed back into embryo state

The living tissue inside an animal has been regressed back into an embryonic state for the first time, Spanish researchers say. But the journal Nature showed the technique led to tumors in mice. (BBC)

Physicians push off-label ketamine as rapid depression treatment, part 1
Ketamine, the anesthetic and illegal club drug, is now being repurposed as the first rapid-acting antidepressant drug and has been lauded as possibly the biggest advance in the treatment of depression in 50 years. (Scientific American)

Stem-cell bank reach for fountain of youth
Got $63,000 to spare? Maybe you want to freeze a backup of your adult self for potential use decades later. (Vancouver Sun)

Nanotechnology solutions to combat superbugs
The emergence of superbugs has made it imperative to search for novel methods, which can combat the microbial resistance. Thus, application of nanotechnology in pharmaceuticals and microbiology is gaining importance to prevent the catastrophic consequences of antibiotic resistance.  (Nanowerk)

The next step for end-of-life care
The hourly revenue generated by a physician discussing plans for care is $87. That same physician, when conducting a procedure such as a colonoscopy or a cataract extraction, will make more than $300 per hour. Renewed support for a bill that would better compensate U.S. doctors for providing end-of-life counseling highlights the value of these conversations; for patients, physicians, and the healthcare system. (The Atlantic)

Researchers uncover genetic cause of childhood leukemia
A genetic link specific to risk of childhood leukemia has now been identified, according to a team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other institutions. The discovery was reported online today in the journal Nature Genetics. (Medical Xpress)

Abortion: A decision that doesn’t serve the public interest 

A decision not to prosecute two abortion doctors who offered gender-specific terminations raises a host of questions about sexism. (The Telegraph)

Bioethics: Making Headlines

Lots of interesting developments inthe field of bioethics this week. Take a look at these top stories, reported bythe Deerfield, Illinois, Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity:

Most detailed 3D map of human brain
 Adeceased 65-year-old woman has provided scientists with the material for thefirst super high-resolution, three-dimensional digital model of the humanbrain. (The Telegraph)

FDA approves morning after pill for women of childbearing age
 TheU.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Plan B emergencycontraceptive without a prescription for all women of childbearing age,officials say. (UPI)

In new tools to combat epidemics, the key is context
 Now a newproject called BioMosaic is building a more comprehensive picture offoreign-borne disease threats in the United States, by merging three separatedata tools into a single app for guiding decisions at the time of an outbreak.(New York Times)

HPV vaccine is credited in fall of teenagers’ infection rate
 Theprevalence of dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) the mostcommon sexually transmitted infection in the US and a principal cause ofcervical cancer, has dropped by half among teenage girls in recent years, astriking measure of success for a vaccine against the virus that was introducedonly in seven years ago. (New York Times)

Egypt girl’s death puts spotlight on genitial mutilation
 The deathof a 13-year-old girl during a genital mutilation procedure has brought theissue back into the spotlight in Egypt. While some Egyptians fight for eradicationof the practice, others justify it in on religious grounds. (BBC)

New study tracks emotional health of “surrogate kids” 
Over thepast decade the number of births involving surrogacy with donor eggs and spermhas surged. What, experts wondered, does this mean for the mental and emotionalhealth of the growing number of kids who may or may not know the truth abouttheir distinctive origins? (Today)

Japan experts mull rules on chimeric embryos
 Japaneseexperts were on Tuesday set to discuss rules for experiments with animal-humanembryos, as scientists seek permission for tests that could see human organsproduced inside the growing body of an animal. (Fox News) Another news story suggested that human organs could be grown in animalswithin a year.  (The Telegraph)

Abortion restrictions in states
 Forty-onestates have enacted abortion restrictions at different stages of pregnancy. (New York Times)

High court rules ‘pay-for-delay’ drug deals can face antitrustsuits
 A brand-name drug maker can be sued for violating antitrustlaws if it agrees to pay a potential competitor to delay selling a genericversion, the Supreme Court ruled. (Los Angeles Times)

Be prepared for the big genome leak
 Mostpeople in the US could soon know someone whose genome is held in a researchdatabase. Concerns are growing about our ability to control access to thatinformation. But many scientists feel that restricting access to genomic datafetters research. How long will it be until an idealistic and technicallyliterate researcher deliberately releases genome and trait information publiclyin the name of open science? (Nature)

Directed in vitro (IVF) technique may increase insulinresistance among offspring
 A special type of IVF may increase the riskfor insulin resistance among high-tech babies. (E! Science News)

IVF: First baby born using ’safer’ method
 In aworld first, a healthy baby has been born using a “safer” method of theinfertility treatment IVF, using a natural hormone to kick-start his mother’sovaries. (BBC)

Surrogate Refuses Offer of $10,000 to Abort

Bioedge reports that a couple in the Northeast offered their surrogate mother (CrystalKelley) $10,000 to abort their baby because it had acleft lip and palate, a brain cyst, and an abnormal heart. When Crystal refused, the couple's lawyer sent a demand letter insisting that she abort the baby, along with the financial incentive. The attorney also said the couple would give up custody to the state if the childwere born. 

Crystal didn't want the child going to state care, so she moved to Michigan, where surrogates are considered the children's legal parents. She then found adoptiveparents, to whom she gave the baby shortly after birth.

Some argue that Crystal's rights over her own body trump the rights of the legal parents: "If we have any pretensions about defending a woman'sright to choose, then we must defend that right even when, likeKelley, she chooses to change her mind."

Another commentator disagreed, arguing that the parents' legal rights trump any concerns ofthe surrogate: "It seems absurd to make demands on the parents andto further those demands by claiming emotional attachment to the child youare carrying." 

Crystal herself says that she stands by her decision and ishappy the child has lived, despite its disabilities.

  

The Gosnell Travesty

“This is not about being 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life.' It's aboutbasic human rights.” 
—Kirsten Powers, 
USA Today

 If you don't know the name Kermit Gosnell, you should. And notin a good way. I expect the once-buried piece of news about him to be among tomorrow’s topnews stories—if not the top story. Warning: You must have a strong stomach to read/see this excellentarticle from The Atlantic: Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story: The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy.

Bioethics in the News

The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity sends out a listing of top bioethics stories for the week. Some interesting stuff here:

Better prenatal testing does not mean more abortion
Between 70 and 85 percent of women in the U.S. confronted with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose abortion — but that number used to be higher. (The Atlantic)

Morning-after pills don’t cause abortion, studies say
The most heated part of the fight between the Obama administration and religious groups over new rules that require most health plans to cover contraception actually has nothing to do with birth control. It has to do with abortion. (NPR)  [For all my past postings about this, search for Plan B in this blog in the right-column search engine.]

Stem cell-based bioartificial tissues and organs
Surgeon Paolo Macchiarini has made his name by successfully transplanting bioengineered stem cell-based trachea, composed of both artificial and biological material. He now plans to use the technique to recreate more complex tissues, such as the esophagus and diaphragm or organs such as the heart and lungs. (Science Daily)

Organ trafficking, a new crime of the 21st century
Organ transplant medicine is an incredible life-saving technology, under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of available organs, a new crime of the 21st century, organ trafficking, is supplying organs to people with the money to pay big dollars for a new life. (The Epoch Times)

Why death is not the end of your social media life
Services such as LivesOn and DeadSocial plan to keep your friends and family updated on your Twitter and Facebook pages, even after you have passed away. (The Guardian )

A genetic code for genius?
In China, a research project aims to find the roots of intelligence in our DNA; searching for the supersmart. (Wall Street Journal )

Frozen embryo outcomes mixed
Frozen embryos yielded better birth outcomes on some measures compared with fresh embryos in vitro fertilization, but there were some concerning signals of big babies and excess early mortality, a Nordic population-based study indicated. (Med Page Today )

No increased cancer risk after IVF: Study
Women getting fertility treatments can be reassured that in vitro fertilization (IVF) does not increase their risk of breast and gynecological cancers, according to a new study of Israeli women. (NBC News )

Bioethics in the News

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity hasreleased this list of what they consider the top related news stories thisweek:

 Stem cell therapy to repairdamaged knee cartilage  RushUniversity Medical Center is conducting the nation’s first clinical study of aninnovative stem cell drug, Cartistem, to repair knee cartilage damaged byaging, trauma or degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. (Science Daily)

Abusive partners can sabotage contraception Whileresearchers don’t know exactly how common it is, the nation’s leading group ofobstetricians and gynecologists says women should be screened for ‘reproductivecoercion.’ (U.S.A. Today)

Japanese researchers say kidney tissue grown from stemcells (update) Researchers in Japan said Wednesday that they havesucceeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells for the first time, ina potential first step towards helping millions who depend on dialysis. (Medical Xpress)

Experts propose overhaul of ethics oversight of research The longstanding ethical framework for protecting humanvolunteers in medical research needs to be replaced because it is outdated andcan impede efforts to improve health care quality, assert leaders in bioethics,medicine, and health policy in two companion articles in a HastingsCenter Report special report, “Ethical Oversight of Learning HealthCare Systems.” One of the authors calling for a new approach is the mainarchitect of the current ethical framework. (Eurekalert)

Protests mark anniversary of landmark abortion ruling Americans on Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the SupremeCourt decision that legalized abortion, even as battles over the contentiousissue have largely shifted from the federal courts to statehouses. (Reuters)

 ‘I can create Neanderthal baby, I just need awilling woman’  A scientist has said it would be possible to clone aNeanderthal baby from ancient DNA if he could find a woman willing to act as asurrogate. (The Telegraph)

Strangers protest care of man in end-of-life  A throngof protesters stood outside St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital on Sunday, signsheld high, voices carrying in the cold air and their message made clear: PaulG. Smith, a gravely ill 88-year-old man, is not getting the care he needs. (U.S.A. Today)

California woman pleads guilty in assisted suicide of WWII veteran  A California woman accused of helping an 86-year-oldWorld War II veteran kill himself by mixing a lethal dose of Oxycontin into hisyogurt pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of assisted suicide and wassentenced to probation. (Reuters)

Women’s health in Islam: Addressing harmful traditionalpractice  In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, as in otherregions, women and newborn children are among the most vulnerable populationgroups. Ten countries are still at risk of not achieving Millennium DevelopmentGoals 4 and 5 by 2015, and health indicators for these two population groupscontinue to be a cause for alarm in several countries of the Region. (World Health Organization) 

Visit http://www.bioethics.com fordaily posts on bioethics news and issues.

Bioethics in the News

The Center for Bioethics and HumanDignity compiled this list of recent news articles:

U.S. abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade
 U.S.abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggestone-year decrease in at least a decade.  (Wall Street Journal)

Real-time genetics could squash“superbug” outbreaks before they spread
 Genetic sequencesof drug-resistant bacteria have helped scientists better understand how thesedastardly infections evolve —and elude treatment. But these superbugs are stillclaiming lives of many who acquire them in hospitals, clinics, and nursinghomes. And recent outbreaks of these hard-to-treat infections can spread easilyin healthcare settings. (Scientific American)

Women’s health in juvenile detention:How a system designed for boys is failing girls
 Sexual assault, pregnancy, and other unique needs are oftenoverlooked by a cursory and underfunded system. Poor physical health alsoincreases girls’ risk of recidivism. (The Atlantic)

Youth more aware of AIDS, but toomany still don’t know their HIV status
 As World AIDS Dayapproaches tomorrow, public health experts are turning the focus on teens andyoung adults who make up a remarkably high proportion of HIV infections in theU.S. (Time)

Mind-controlled artificial limbsfusing man and machine coming next year 
A postdoctoralstudent has developed a technique for implanting thought-controlled roboticarms and their electrodes directly to the bones and nerves of amputees, a movewhich he is calling “the future of artificial limbs.” The first volunteers willreceive their new limbs early in 2013. (Wired)

Medical tourism is a massiveopportunity for emerging nations like Thailand
 Interestingly, a more recent trend of emerging, and evenfrontier, nations developing medical tourism industries has sprouted. Unlikelyspots such as Thailand are getting in on the game. (Forbes)

Prescribe morning after pills inadvance, say pediatricians
 The American Academy ofPediatrics (AAP) on Monday called on the nation’s pediatricians to counsel allof their adolescent patients about emergency contraception and make advanceprescriptions for it available to girls under 17.  (Chicago Tribune)

Gattaca alert? Or should we welcomethe new age of eugenics? 
Dramatic developments ingenetics, including the ability to tinker with our inheritance, has thrust theissue of eugenics back into the headlines.  (Forbes)

Organ transplant pioneer talks aboutrisks and rewards
 Sir Roy Calne is a pioneer of organtransplants,— the surgeon who in the 1950s found ways to stop the human immunesystem from rejecting implanted hearts, livers, and kidneys. In 1968 heperformed Europe’s first liver transplant, and in 1987 the world’s firsttransplant of a liver, heart and lung. (New York Times)

Nanotechnology: Carrying Drugs
 Traditional chemotherapies can be toxic but nano-sizedcarriers can keep them out of healthy tissue and take old drugs to new places.(Nature)

Scientists see promise indeep-learning programs 
Using an artificialintelligence technique inspired by theories about how the brain recognizespatterns, technology companies are reporting startling gains in fields asdiverse as computer vision, speech recognition and the identification ofpromising new molecules for designing drugs. (New York Times)

“Irrational” factors may drive end oflife access to radiation

Access to radiation treatments toease cancer symptoms in the last days of life may be driven by costs and othernon-medical considerations, a new U.S. study concludes. (Reuters)

Bioethics News

From the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity

Featured ResourceThis week we present a talk given by CBHD's Executive Director, Paige C. Cunningham, JD, at The Family Research Council onMarkets and Consumers: The Commodification of Women and Girls. The talk was a part of FRC's lecture series and the Witherspoon Lecture for 2012.

CBHD Academy of Fellows ConsultationShould we be able to create synthetic sperm and eggs for reproductive purposes? Will children born from such procedures be at elevated risk for biological and/or sociological problems?
Explore cutting-edge ethical and theological questions surrounding the development of novel procedures in the artificial creation of human gametes.

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
10am to 5:30pm
Trinity International University
Kantzer Hall - KANT 141
Admission is free but registration is required

Uruguay senate approves first-trimester abortions
Uruguay’s Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that allows women to have abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy for any reason, opening the way for one of the most sweeping abortion rights laws in Latin America. (New York Times)

Over my dead body
Helping the terminally ill to die, once taboo, is gaining acceptance. (The Economist)

Synthetic biology raises playing God fears
Is it safe to let humans play God and create new organisms - animals and plants - that have never existed in Mother Nature? The ongoing UN Convention on Biodiversity here [Hyderabad] is going to address this question on Friday evening, when it decides if countries need to put their heads together to study the new field of synthetic biology. (Times of India)

California enacts landmark legislation giving same sex parents via surrogacy equal parenting rights
California has taken the unprecedented step of changing the legal definition of “intended parent” to be “an individual, married or unmarried,” making it legislatively illegal to discriminate against same sex parents both before and after their children are born from surrogacy arrangements. (Sacramento Bee)

Blood or bone marrow better for stem cell transplants?
Study found no survival differences, but blood cells may be associated with more chronic side effects.
(U.S. News and World Report)

Stem cells from cadavers? Pluripotent stem cells can be derived from dead bodies, research shows
Death will come for us all one day, but life will not fade from our bodies all at once. After our lungs stop breathing, our hearts stop beating, our minds stop racing, our bodies cool, and long after our vital signs cease, little pockets of cells can live for days, even weeks. Now scientists have harvested such cells from the scalps and brain linings of human corpses and reprogrammed them into stem cells. (Huffington Post)

Shinya Yamanaka interview: 2012 Nobel Prize winner on stem-cells, ethics and the future of medicine
In a conversation with Technology Academy Finland (TAF) at the time of his winning the Millennium Technology Prize earlier this year, and published today exclusively by the Huffington Post, Shinya Yamanaka said a future in which medical drugs are made to order is closer than ever. (Huffington Post)

Should we ration end-of-life care?
A panel debated the pros and cons of both sides in the latest edition of Intelligence Squared U.S. They faced off two against two in an Oxford-style debate on the motion “Ration End-of-Life Care.” (NPR)

Claims of first human stem cell trial unravels
It has been a crazy week for stem cell research. After the high of a Nobel prize for Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka, the pioneer of cellular reprogramming, events took an alarming and surreal turn when a little-known compatriot – Hisashi Moriguchi – claimed to have already run a clinical trial in which similarly reprogrammed cells were injected into people. (New Scientist)

Tracking a killer: Cell phones aid a pioneering malaria study in Kenya
A pioneering study into malaria transmission in Kenya, using data gleaned from the cell phones of nearly 15 million people, has given scientists new clues into how the deadly disease spreads. (CNN)

Bioethics in the News

Thanks tothe Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity for spotting these articles, whichfeature bioethics in the news.

How muchinfo does the human genome contain, and when should we stop looking? (Nature)

Doctorsdebate whether freezing embryos should become the primary option for in vitro (BBC).

A report analyzes the worldwide demand for embryonic stem cell research  (Sacramento Bee).

New research shows that six monthsafter the implantation of neural stemcells, two patients gained some function (CBS).

Six months after an avalanchedeprived the skiing Prince Friso of Holland, 43, of oxygen, he remains in adeep coma. His country debates euthanasia(The Australian).

 “Superbugs” resist our strongest antibiotic treatments; we must remain vigilantin addressing the growing threat from microbes. (CNN)

The more abortions a woman has before giving birth, the more likely she isto have a preemie. (BBC News)

Male fertility: Researchers make sperm from a skin sample. (Telegraph)

Britishcouples banned from pre-birth sex selection fly to New York to skirt UKlaws. (Telegraph)

Brave New (Fallen) World

It's been quite a week for ethical issues in the  NY Times.

Yesterday's top headline was about how researchers mapped a fetus's genome before its birth using samples from the mother's hair and father's saliva. The announcement holds a lot of promise--but a lot of creepiness. Will parents abort when they realize the baby they're carrying will have any one of (or a combo of) factors considered unideal? What do you think?

Then in today's top stories, David Brooks writes an opinion piece that contrasts our morality when we viewed ourselves as depraved in the past generation compared with our current view of ourselves as "pretty good people." Guess which group was more likely to justify a little pilfering?

Anti-Reductionism

I don't know about you, but a long time ago I grew weary and wary of people "reducing" the Bible down to two culture-war issues: abortion and gay marriage.

The good news is that I think we're making some serious progress in changing that mentality. I just returned from the national meeting of the Evangelical Press Association where I heard keynote addresses and attended workshops that challenged such thinking. We discussed "war" as a metaphor and how much it stinks as a label for how to engage the marketplace. People die and get maimed in war.

In the words of Jonathan Merritt, a Liberty University grad and son of a former head of the SBC, "Should the church fight for the lives of the unborn? Absolutely. But can Christians afford to ignore the 3 million already-living who will die from preventable water-related diseases this year? What about the 1.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water? And what of the 1-million-plus Africans who will unnecessarily die of malaria in the next 12 months?"

Can I get an "Amen"?

In one workshop the coordinator handed out a copy of Youthworker magazine in which the above words appeared. I read the entire article and loved it. It gave words to how I feel about politics: "Many Christians...[refuse] to align with either side. Rather than red or blue, many Christians tend to be a comfortable shade of purple."Yup. That's me. Color me purple.

To read Jonathan's article, "Anti-Reductionism: Saving the Bible from Culture Warriors," adapted with permission from his book A Faith of our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars, go here.

Bioethics in the News

Stem Cell Research: Soon “stemcell shielding” may protect the body from the consequences of chemotherapy. (BBC News)

Contraception: A new study finds that IUDs are the best, most reliableemergency contraceptive for women. (ABC News)

End of Life: Argentina’s Senate has okayed a “dignified death” law to givethe terminally ill and their families more control over end-of-life decisions.(BBC News)

End of Life: An analysis of medical data suggests that kidney patients aresubject to more intensive medical care in their last month of life than arepatients with cancer or heart failure.  (American Medical News)

Organ donation:  A British lab is growing spare body parts, suggesting organ donation maysomeday be a thing of the past. (Daily Mail)

Overstated evidence: A review of databases found that most clinical trials for cancer, heart disease, and mental healthare too small to offer adequate medical evidence. (New York Daily News)

Coerced abortion: A woman in China asserts she wasdragged from her home and forced to have an abortion.  (CNN)

The Vanishing Little Girl

In an op-ed that ran on CNN, a professor of bioethics at the University of Montreal asked, “Is gender selection of a fetus ethical?” Dr. Vardit Ravitsky discusses the new maternal blood test announced last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association—the test I mentioned that can determine a baby’s sex as early as seven weeks’ gestation. The technology has potential for good, like confirming “it’s a girl” for a mom carrying a baby she fears is carrying an abnormality passed only to boys. But even before the test is on the market, it has ignited a firestorm of ethics conversations because of its potential for evil. Think especially of countries where people want boy babies and not girl babies. A mom gets the test (or her husband/lover forces her to), discovers she's carrying a girl, and gets an abortion. We know that in China in 2005, for example, there were 32 million more men under 20 than women. That’s gender discrimination at its most chilling: Keep females from even making it into the world and you don’t have to discriminate against them once they arrive. While research in the US suggests that about as many parents want girls as boys, consider that here we more easily rationalize abortion the earlier in the pregnancy it takes place. So the test would make rationalizing abortion even easier. At the moment in the United States, any woman has the legal right to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester without providing any reason. That’s her legal right. Dr. Vavitsky writes, “Rejecting an otherwise wanted and healthy fetus solely on the basis of its sex provides poor justification, making sex selection for non-medical reasons an ethically dubious choice even as early as seven weeks.… While promising significant benefits from a medical perspective, [the test] raises serious social and ethical concerns." I'll say!Ethicist Arthur Caplin weighed in on the conversation in an article published by MetroWest Daily News. He said, “Everything about the early testing of fetal genes for sex identification spells ethical trouble. And, as the techniques for the analysis of fetal DNA become more and more accurate and affordable, it is likely to reshape the debate over abortion…. And there are plenty of people around the world who are eager to have boys rather than girls. There are already thriving industries in old-fashioned genetic testing purely for sex selection.” He believes we will see a modest sex-selection business in the U.S. complementing what is already big business in India and China. He concludes, “Being male or female is not a disease or a disorder. Wanting a boy is a preference, but it is not one that justifies ending a pregnancy. But ending a pregnancy because you don't want a girl may be legal in the U.S., but that does not make it an ethical choice.”

Abortion and Sex-Selection

This morning's New York Times ran a powerful piece on the ramifications of abortion worldwide in terms of sex selection. Women across the globe abort daughters because more honor comes to them when they birth sons. And their ability to do that came largely from the West's influence and aid.

We cannot call this a male-against-female crime committed due to patriarchy. Women are as complicit as men. This is a powerful-against-powerless issue. The end result (so far) is that 160 females' lives have been extinguished. New ramifications: More kidnapping of females, sex trafficking, and prostitution.

The Wanted and Unwanted Unborn

Today's NYT had a good article about the dilemmas faced both by those wanting to conceive and those who wish they hadn't.

Expanding Our View on Sanctity of Life

Yesterday was Sanctity of Life Sunday. In the Christian community when we think of sanctity of life, we often limit our discourse to abortion. Yet we need to expand that conversation to include the taking of any innocent life:

Abortion
Active euthanasia
Nuclear bombs
Darfur
Embryonic stem cell research
Eugenics
Unlimited in vitro fertilization
The disposability of girls in China
Widows expected to commit suicide upon the deaths of their husbands

Moving beyond sanctity of life we also need to consider that "human dignity" is also grounded in Genesis 1. That has ramifications for...

Sex trafficking
Refusal of hydrating tubes
Slavery
POW standards
Immigration policy
Homelessness
Hunger
Poverty

I think politicians in both parties have taken too a high a view of humans at times. Unsupervised commerce fails to check greed, leading to economic disaster. And assuming that "a woman and her doctor" will interpret "the life of the mother" as applying only to life-and-death situations...?