Roughly a dozen years ago, an animal biologist at Michigan State University inserted his own DNA into a cow’s egg. Although Jose Cibelli’s foolish attempt to play God didn’t spawn a new life form, the failed sci-fi experiment did give birth to a controversial technique known today as interspecies cloning.
Predictably, scientists have grown discontented with standing at the threshold of a “brave new world.” At least three teams of British researchers are eager to make the leap into the land of biological engineering and reproductive technology. The real-life ramifications of “advancing” science are certain to be more frightening than anything Aldous Huxley dreamed up for his futuristic novel.
Life on the cutting edge isn’t limited to Brits experimenting with bovine eggs. Esmail Zanjani, a professor at the University of Nevada, reportedly has created the world’s first human-sheep chimera – which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The new animal has 15 percent human cells and 85 percent animal cells, and its evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer.
Either way, injecting adult human cells into a sheep’s fetus or a cow’s egg, this new wave of research should do more than reignite debate over the morality of such experiments; it should jar Christians from their current state of ambivalence. Interspecies cloning is not a step forward. There is no doubt that genetic engineering defiles human dignity and promises to change life as we know it, which is hardly the gratitude God deserves for creating mankind and giving humans dominion over animals. Why would anyone even think about altering God’s unique, perfect design or his wonderful handiwork?
Scientists point to the lack of an ample supply of human eggs for embryonic stem-cell research as the catalyst for expanding cloning between humans and animals. The idea is to take DNA from patients sick with diseases like Alzheimer’s and fuse it with cow eggs that have had all their genetic material removed. Scientists expect the human DNA to trick the eggs into thinking they’re pregnant, and the development of life would begin. After about five days of growth, the cloned embryos would be destroyed and the stem cells extracted.
Cloning and human embryonic stem-cell research are morally wrong. Furthermore, interspecies cloning is the most repugnant and reprehensible act that can occur in a petri dish. Biologically blending man and beast is not a matter for intellectual, academic debate. This is the Church’s call to action.
“We are living in a day of almost unimaginable scientific possibilities. Yet as a moral culture, we have never been in a weaker position to manage those possibilities responsibly,” said Pastor Rod Parsley. “We must face the disturbing fact that technology is racing forward so quickly, policy makers and so-called bioethicists can’t possibly keep up.”
Properly understood, science is a natural extension of Christian faith. However, the faithful must be engaged with the broader culture to maintain the biblical influence as science progresses. When the church retreats into its religious enclaves, militant scientists are allowed to go on their wayward course undeterred. Christians must preserve the sanctity of life by guiding technology and medical research with moral discipline.
source: www.centerformoralclarity.net
The Lamp 