The Lutheran, January 2008
A monthly column by Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
The genetics challenge
Our role in stewarding God's gift of life
At Thanksgiving Day dinner our daughter and son-in-law were excited to show us ultrasound images of their baby, which is due in early April. The advances in health care amaze and humble me, but they also make me grateful: A similar test eight years ago determined that our granddaughter would need corrective surgery soon after birth. Without such diagnostic tools, she would not be the vibrant, healthy child she is today.
Recent advances in science make the decisions we face ever more complex and daunting. As a lay person with little training in the sciences, I am astounded that the genetic inheritance of all species on earth, including human beings, is governed by the molecule known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The growing understanding of how different parts of DNA affect different characteristics of living beings gives us as humans unprecedented knowledge, power and responsibility.
It is tempting to conclude that genetics is too complicated and overwhelming for our consideration. If, however, we leave the discussions to scientists, the decisions to others and the debates to politicians, we may forget that each of us is called to be a steward of God’s gift of life.
The greater likelihood is that we are already impacted by what genetic research and engineering make possible. Perhaps you or a family member has struggled with infertility and the question of in vitro fertilization (see "Thinking ethically"). These choices are fraught with ethical and theological issues about how we as individuals, families, communities and societies should use our knowledge and power responsibly to tend and keep life on earth. The options and implications for our personal lives are overwhelming enough, but decisions we face have significant consequences for others as well. They include the possibility of ending hunger and many diseases, the distribution of limited financial resources, the affordability of health care and the adoption of public policies.
The 2005 Churchwide Assembly, responding to a memorial from the Northeastern Iowa Synod, authorized a social statement “that addresses significant theological, ethical, public, and pastoral challenges arising from the developments in genetics” for possible consideration by the 2011 Churchwide Assembly. The authorizing resolution encourages “faithful conversations on this topic throughout this church during the study process.”
What a marvelous opportunity we now have as a church body to engage questions that generations before us could never have contemplated. The questions are wide-ranging and complex: how can and should we use this knowledge to heal or prevent genetic diseases; under what conditions, if any, should we engage in human stem-cell research; under what conditions, if any, is it acceptable to clone life forms; how can we use new genetic knowledge to reduce hunger or increase the safety of the human food supply?
The ELCA already has a social policy resolution on genetically modified organisms in the food supply. How can we use this knowledge to protect or enhance the natural environment?
Over the years, our strategy as a church body in response to these conundrums has been to enable and foster deliberation on the issues rather than to rush to official judgments. For this purpose, the ELCA has provided publications and forums to encourage such deliberation throughout this church. The aim has been to encourage both faithful moral understanding and to keep citizens reasonably informed about the various aspects of biotechnology.
I invite you to follow this social statement on the ELCA Web site. On the Web site you will find a time line, information about listening posts and other resources. From Bible studies to church basements, from family tables to doctors’ offices, from science labs to farmers’ fields, it is a conversation in which I encourage you to participate.