Can religion alone handle the job?
How can we hope to grapple with complex moral issues that have emerged only in recent years? Can religion alone handle the job? Consider the follow- ing case:
According to a report by CNN, Jack and Lisa Nash made history when they used genetic testing to save the life of their six-year-old daughter, Molly, by having another child. Molly had a rare genetic disorder known as Fanconi anemia, which pre- vents the generation of bone marrow and pro- duces a fatal leukemia. Molly’s best chance to live was to get a transplant of stem cells from the umbilical cord of a sibling, and Molly’s parents were determined to give her that sibling, brother Adam. Through genetic testing (and in vitro fertil- ization), Jack and Lisa were able to select a child who would not only be born without a particular disease (Fanconi anemia, in this case) but also would help a sibling combat the disease by being
the optimal tissue match for a transplant—a historic combination. As Lisa Nash said, “I was going to save Molly no matter what, and I wanted Molly to have siblings.”*
Is it right to produce a child to save the life or health of someone else? More to the point, do the scriptures of the three major Western religions provide any guidance on this question? Do any of these traditions offer useful methods for pro – ductively discussing or debating such issues with people of different faiths? How might ethics help with these challenges? Is it possible to formulate a reasonable opinion on this case without doing ethics? Why or why not?
*“Genetic Selection Gives Girl a Brother and a Second Chance,” CNN.com, 3 October 2000, http://archives.cnn .com/2000/HEALTH/10/03/testube.brother/index.html (8 Decem ber 2005).
CRITICAL THOUGHT: Ethics, Religion, and Tough Moral Issues
10 Á PART 1: FUNDAMENTALS
will talk past each other, appealing only to their own religious views. Furthermore, in a pluralistic society, most of the public discussions about important moral issues take place in a context of shared values such as justice, fairness, equality, and tolerance. Just as important, they also occur according to an unwritten understanding that (1) moral positions should be explained, (2) claims should be supported by reasons, and (3) reasoning should be judged by common rational standards. These skills, of course, are at the heart of ethics.