A christian approach to bioethics

Abstract

Christian moral insight into complex medical issues depends mostly on beliefs about what it is to be human, what makes for human well-being, and how social attitudes that reinforce such human values can best be strengthened. Issues concerning sex selection are used to illustrate how such beliefs work in practice. To dismiss therapeutic selection as ‘playing God˚s is not helpful. Human beings are meant to use their creative powers, but there is a line to be drawn between therapy and eugenics. There is a good moral case for trying to eliminate serious sex-linked diseases. Although there may be strong personal reasons for wanting a child of a particular sex, deliberate selection for non-medical reasons, if it became widespread, would subtly change social attitudes, reinforcing consumerist values at one of the most awesome and personally significant moments in anyone's experience. There is a moral distinction between influencing a child's development during its upbringing, and making choices about its genes. Even the most manipulative parents treat their child as a person. To manipulate its genes is to treat it as an object.