Stem cells, through a religious lens

Representatives of three of the world's major religions tangled over the beginnings of human life, the disposal of surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics, and the conduct of embryonic stem cell research Wednesday (March 14) at Harvard Divinity School.

Panelists at the event, representing Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, each briefly presented their faith's teachings about the beginnings of human life and then embarked on a lively discussion about embryonic stem cell research.

The conservative Christian view that human life is created at conception contrasted with the view common among Jews that an embryo doesn't become human until 40 days after conception, and the similar Muslim view that human life begins when the soul enters the developing baby sometime between 40 days and 120 days after conception.

The different beliefs in the timing of when a developing embryo becomes a human likely accounts for different levels of acceptance for embryonic stem cell research, which is supported in the Jewish community, is accepted in many Muslim countries, yet is opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations.

The panel featured Eric Cohen, director of the Bioethics and American Democracy Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., who presented the Jewish point of view; Omar Sultan Haque, a Muslim theologian at Harvard Medical School; John Davis, a Presbyterian minister and professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; and Llewellyn Smith of the Andover/Newton Theological School and a minister with the United Church of Christ.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute faculty members Willy Lensch and Jerome Ritz also participated, providing clarification on scientific points.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute executive director Brock Reeve introduced the event, saying that exploring ethical matters related to stem cell research is an important part of the institute's mission. Philip Clayton, visiting professor of science and religion at Harvard Divinity School, moderated the event.

Clayton said that the ethical issues surrounding embryonic stem cell research have made it one of the best-known and highest-stakes ethical debates of our times. Supporters, Clayton said, insist that the promise of stem cell research to cure debilitating diseases means the research must go forward. Opponents, however, say that the need to destroy human embryos as a source of stem cells makes the cost of that research too high.

Though Cohen presented the Jewish belief that 40 days after conception is a critical threshold for human life, he said he disagrees with that notion. He believes that medical advances that allow embryos to live outside the human body and scientific knowledge that 40 days after conception is not a significant time in human development have put humanity in a situation unanticipated by religious tradition.

Cohen, who has served as an adviser to President George Bush's Council on Bioethics, said he believes human life must be respected from conception and warned of the dangers of defining a class of human beings as unworthy of life.

"I think we need to see the embryos as God sees us. In the eyes of God, we don't seem like much," Cohen said.