Australian Editorial About Stem Cell Research

Australian Editorial About Stem Cell Research

The Age printed an opinion piece by Alan Nichols, an Anglican priest and writer, and director of the Centre for Applied Christian Ethics at Ridley College, Melbourne University, on October 16. Nichols argues for preserving the status quo in the Australian stem cells debate:

But there is a middle way - to support the status quo, which would allow further research on embryo stem cells to see what benefit it can bring, but continue the legislative ban on therapeutic cloning because the arguments to lift the ban are not conclusive. The effect of this would be to simply extend the two pieces of legislation, and insert another sunset clause three or five years hence.

He argues for preserving the status quo for the following reasons: adult stem cell research has already shown very promising results; only a few embryonic stem cell research trials have been done in Australia but the results show good potential; but he sees therapeutic cloning as close to eugenics or Nazi attempts to create a master race. He says that he would need to see first that the research on existing, donated embryos has been fruitful, and then if it has used up the entire existing embryos before creating new ones.

Nichols says he regards the moment 14 days after conception (a period when 25 % of pregnancies still end in spontaneous abortion) as the important moment in the embryo becoming human life. He acknowledges that other people who are pro-life have different opinions and says,

We support medical research to achieve public good, but give us time for our understanding and ethics to catch up. Give us time to see what happens.

He concludes with a request to not treat embryos as a commodity or to makes business-based arguments for research; “they said this about the slave trade.”

I found this piece to be generally well-written and though provoking, precisely because it struggles with the issue instead of offering a dogmatic response on either side. I do think that comparing therapeutic cloning to eugenics or Nazi experiments is a good way to increase the temperature of the rhetoric without thinking through the scientific issues carefully. While the technology to create a “better” human being may come along at some point, and will certainly be a hotly debated issue, SCNT is not it.