COMMENTARY

Post Date: November 26, 2002

Life-Affirming Alternatives: Choosing Well at Bioethical Crossroads

by Carrie G. Earll

It may not be apparent at first glance, but frozen eggs, umbilical cord blood, and abolishing India's dowry system share a common ethical thread: they each represent an ethical alternative at a sticky bioethical crossroads.

In humanity's ongoing effort to ameliorate the affects of the Fall, we ultimately rely upon the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, and creativity that God gave us at Creation. If our utilization of science, medicine, and technology are to have any touch of Redemption on the earth, we must make decisions that are in accordance with God's order and seek to know what choices He considers best.

Choices -- bioethical and otherwise -- confront us every day, and clearly not all choices are equal. Such dilemmas are not new, as ancient Israel also struggled with making good decisions. In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 30 could be dubbed "The Choice Chapter," as in it God details His criteria for what choices are best. In verses 11-14, God establishes accountability for the choices we make based upon the fact that He has made His preferences known: "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach . . . No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."

It is in the following verse that we learn that this "not too difficult" choice encompasses the most complex and emotional issues of our day: life and death. So, what is God's command? What is His choice? "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deut 30:19). God's choice is life, and all of heaven and earth are watching to witness whether human beings will heed the Eternal One's preference.

The fact that the God of Creation is, in political terms, "pro-life," is more than a theological determination. It should inform the decisions we make, as well as how we proceed with the knowledge, wisdom, and creativity that He has given to us. If God directs us to "choose life," that implies that there is always a life-affirming option to choose. The challenge is to look for the "life" response, even if one does not appear to be readily available or on the horizon. We need to be creatively developing and watching for alternatives to death-producing responses and research -- which brings us back to eggs, cord blood, and dowries.

Bioethics viewed through the lens of Deuteronomy 30 is replete with examples of life-affirming alternatives to life-destroying actions. The recent successful use of frozen eggs instead of frozen embryos in the in vitro fertilization process is one example. Another is the growing clinical benefit of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood and other so-called "adult" stem cell sources, rather than from human embryos. In India, it is suggested that abolishing the traditional dowry system could help prevent sex-selection abortions, as the high cost of dowries encourages some parents to abort pre-born girls. One alternative is the institution of mass weddings, at which the giving and receiving of dowries is banned.

At the beginning of life, we can concentrate research efforts into developing ways to test gametes for genetic disease instead of screening (and destroying) living human embryos. At the conclusion of life, consider the impact of a network of end-of-life palliative care centers -- much like today's pregnancy resource centers -- offering counseling and assistance to terminally ill patients and their families, rather than the hopelessness of physician-assisted suicide.

If God's preference is life, then that should be ours as well. In bioethics, the challenge is to not be content or satisfied with the first life-destroying option that comes along. With a little creativity and a touch of redemption, we can trust that God will reveal and provide the life-affirming alternatives He prefers. CBHD

Carrie G. Earll is fellow at The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Copyright 2002 by The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CBHD, its staff, board or supporters.  Permission to reprint granted as long as The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and the web address for this article is referenced.