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An Eastern Orthodox View of Embryonic Stem Cell Research By Father Demetrios Demopulos, Ph.D. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
I would like to thank the Commission for providing me with an opportunity to present an Orthodox view of the ethical problems and challenges associated with human embryonic stem cell research. I would like to emphasize that I do not speak for the Greek Orthodox Church but instead offer comments that I believe are consistent with the teachings and tradition of the Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church has a long tradition of encouraging the "medical art" that alleviates unnecessary pain and suffering and restores health. The Church, however, also has reminded us that this art is given to us by God to be used according to His will, not our own, since "the medical art has been vouchsafed us by God, who directs our whole life, as a model for the cure of the soul" and "we ought not commit outrage against a gift of God by putting it to bad use."[1] What constitutes bad use is what has brought us together here today. An important consideration for the Orthodox is based on our understanding of what it is to be a human person.
Humans are created in the image and likeness of God and are unique in creation because they are psychosomatic, beings of both body and soul-physical and spiritual. We do not understand this mystery, which is analogous to that of the Theanthropic Christ, who at the same time is both God and a human being. We do know, however, that God intends for us to love Him and grow in relationship to Him and to others until we reach our goal of theosis, or deification, participation in the Divine Life through His grace. We grow in the image of God until we reach the likeness of God. Because we understand the human person as one who is in the image and likeness of God, and because of sin we must strive to attain that likeness, we can say that an authentic human person is one who is deified. Those of us who are still struggling toward theosis are human beings, but potential human persons.[2]
We believe that this process toward authentic personhood begins with the zygote. Whether created in situ or in vitro, a zygote is committed to a developmental course that will, with God's grace, ultimately lead to a human person. The embryo and the adult are both potential human persons, although in different stages of development. As a result, Orthodox Christians affirm the sanctity of human life at all stages of development. Unborn human life is entitled to the same protection and the same opportunity to grow in the image and likeness of God as are those already born.
Given this Orthodox understanding of human personhood and life, I cannot condone any procedure that threatens the viability, dignity, and sanctity of that life. In my view, the establishment of embryonic stem cell lines[3] was done at the cost of human lived. Even though not yet a human person, an embryo should not be used for or sacrificed in experimentation, no matter how noble the goal may seem. For me, then, the derivation of embryonic stem cell lines is immoral because it sacrificed human embryos, which were committed to becoming human persons. That the embryos donated for this work were not going to be implanted and had no chance of completing their development cannot mitigate the fact that they should not have been created. In vitro fertilization techniques that routinely result in "surplus" embryos that are eventually discarded is immoral for the same reasons I have already mentioned. I believe, then, that the prohibition of research using human embryos should be continued and, if possible, extended to the private sector as well.
Wishing that something had not been done will not undo it. Established embryonic stem cell lines exist, and their use has great potential benefits for humanity, which need not be reviewed here. The Orthodox Church, as I mentioned before, has a long tradition of encouraging the medical arts. We have a long list of healer-saints-physicians who became authentic persons through the practice of medicine. Invariably, they obeyed the commandment of Christ to his apostles, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay."[4] Without going into an extensive exegesis of the verse, the intention is clear. Attend not to profit, but to the medical needs of others.
Using our healer-saints as a paradigm, I am concerned about how the existing stem cell lines will be used. Will they be used t heal, or will they be used to maximize profits? Market forces are very strong, and, in my opinion, are often contrary to the general good. Allowing the cell lines to be owned by private companies that are responsible first to their stockholders and investors rather than to the general welfare may compromise the use of the lines. It is imperative that steps be taken to ensure that the lines be used only for therapeutic procedures that will benefit those in need and not be limited to the few who will be able to afford them. I want to emphasize that the lines must be used only therapeutically, to restore health and to prevent premature death. They must not be used cosmetically or to further any eugenic agenda. None of us is physically perfect, but all are called to be perfected in Christ. Part of our challenge to participate in the Divine Life is to overcome our deficiencies. We must not attempt to re-create ourselves in our own image.
Because stem cell lines have such great potential for healing, efforts should be made to encourage discovery of more morally acceptable sources. A recent report suggests that adult stem cells may be less restricted than previously thought.[5] It may be possible to develop techniques to culture such cells without the need to sacrifice the donor. Alternatively, because organ donation is viewed favorably by many (but not all) Orthodox Christians, I would accept cell lines derived from fetal primordial germ cells, but only in cases of spontaneous miscarriage. A fetus cannot be killed for an organ, just as an adult cannot. Also, great care must be taken to assure that the mother's consent is truly informed.
In summary, the Orthodox Church promotes and encourages therapeutic advances in medicine and the research necessary to realize them, but not at the expense of human life. The Church considers human life to begin with the zygote and to extend beyond our physical death, as we were promised eternal life by our God and Savior. Recognizing that we are all in a sinful and imperfect state, the Church admonishes us to strive for perfection through God's grace as we strive to become authentic human persons in communion with God. Because we tend to follow our own will rather than God's, we are reminded to be discerning so that we do not commit outrages by putting a gift of God's to bad use.
Notes
1. St. Basil the Great, The Long Rules 55, M.M. Wagner, tr., St. Basil: Ascetical Works, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 9 (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1962), 330-37.
2. See also, Nellas, P., Deification in Christ: The Nature of the Human Person, Chapters 1 and 2 (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1987) and Breck, J., The Sacred Gift of Life: Orthodox Christianity and Bioethics, Chapters 1 and 3 (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1998).
3. Thomson, J.A., Itskovitx-Eldor, J., Shapiro, S.S., Waknitx, M.A., Swiergiel, J.J., Marshall, V.S., and Jones, J.M., "Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts," Science 282 (1998): 1145-1147.
4. Matthew 10:8
5. Bjornson, C.R., Rietze, R.L., Reynolds, B.A., Magil, M.C., and Vescovi, A.L., "Turning Brain into Blood: A Hematopoietic Fate Adopted by Adult Natural Stem Cells in Vivo," Science 283 (1999): 534-537.
Editor's Note: Published in Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research, Volume III, Religious Perspectives, National Bioethics Advisory Commission, Rockville, Maryland, June 2000.
