May 12, 1999

Churches facing new bioethical dilemmas
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___COPPER CANYON--In an era when couples shop for sperm on the Internet, a faith community's ability to help young adults deal ethically with parenting increasingly will distinguish a useful church from one that is not, according to Glenn McGee of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics.
___McGee, who grew up in Seventh & James Baptist Church of Waco, and his father, Dan McGee of Baylor University, discussed ethical issues related

Glenn McGee

to genetics and parenting during the meeting of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and its board of consultants at Briarwood Retreat Center near Denton.
___"There has been a revolution in reproductive technology," McGee said, noting that it has advanced exponentially in the last 10 years--from in-vitro fertilization to genetic mapping and cloning.
___The number of genetic tests available has grown from 85 to 890, but the number of genetic counselors has not kept pace, he observed.
___Since more non-specialists are performing the medical procedures, couples increasingly will come to churches for counseling on issues related to infertility and alternative approaches to becoming parents, he predicted.
___If there is any regulation of reproductive practices, it is more likely to come in the civil courts than in the legislature, McGee said. He predicted a rise in lawsuits based on "failure of expectations" when designer babies do not become what their parents envision.
___Churches and individual Christians should approach the revolution in reproductive technology with gratitude tempered by caution, courage and a sense of contingency, the elder McGee advised.
___Rather than yielding to a "technological messianism" that promises designer children on demand, he suggested, "we get the kind of children we want through nurture, education and old-fashioned acts of responsibility."
___While approaching technological advances with due deliberation, Christians should not be paralyzed by fear of the unknown, he said.
___"Life is lived on the slippery slope," he said. "There are not many broad, flat lands of absolute moral certainty."
___Rather than acting in isolation, couples should be made to feel welcome within churches where there is a shared wisdom, a continuing dialogue on difficult issues and a "community of conversation," he said.

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