What do Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and Michael J. Fox all have in common? No, they were not all students at the University of Berlin. They all suffer (or suffered) from a debilitating illness: Parkinson’s disease.
Because of the upcoming elections, there is currently much talk amongst candidates, their supporters, and the media about whether there should be federal funding for stem cell research which has been said to hold much promise of finding a cure for this disease and many others, here-to-fore incurable. The debate centers on whether using embryos as a source of stem cells for such research is ethical.
Much of the opposition comes from the Christian right and the Catholic Church. They believe that life is created at conception and as such it is unethical to destroy an embryo for purposes of research. They consider it tantamount to abortion or murder. And the President who is a devout Christian has in effect taken this belief and turned it into law by preventing any federal dollars from being spent on it.
But Judaism does not look at an embryo as anything more than potential life. And as such there is nothing Halachicly or ethically wrong with using it for research that could save or improve countless lives if the promise of stem cells holds true. I would be more inclined to oppose it if it were to develop that embryos were created specifically that purpose. I’d have to think about the ethical ramifications of that.
But to not allow stem cell research on embryos already created in fertilization clinics for purposes of procreation, that will other wise be disposed of and destroyed anyway seem like the height of waste and stupidity to me. I have yet to hear any of the Christian ethicists who oppose this to explain the ethics of destroying an existing embryo as preferable to using it for research.
And as Jews, that's all that should matter to us. I am strongly in favor of granting federal funding to stem cell research. I am a big supporter of President Bush, but I disagree with him on this one. It doesn't matter that there are other venues where this research is being done, nor does it matter that that we haven't seen any concrete results yet. What matters to me is that no avenue be cut off from doing so. The Federal government would be the largest funder of any such research and who knows what that might produce.
If there is any federal funding of medical research at all, it ought to be done here. The possible benefits to society far outweigh the religious objections of any particular religion. As long as no one from that religion is forced to give up the embryos created for them, there can be no ethical objection if others who do not share their religious beliefs give up theirs. No one has the right to impose their religious views on general society when those views are harmful to the general welfare. And minimizing research in this area can certainly be viewed as harmful.
I can hear an argument against any government funding of any research in any area what-so-ever... leaving it entirely to the private sector. But we all know that the government has funded much medical research and to great benefit. Look at the human genome project. Without the Clinton administration pushing it, it would have never happened. At least not as soon as it did.
Stem cell research holds much promise. We ought to be working full force, without any hindrances with that until we either find some cures, or until we determine with reasonable certainty that it can’t be done.
