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Cloners' ethics: Dr. Hwang, the Korean scientist who has grabbed the world's attention by cloning human embryos for research and cloning a dog for birth, has come up with a great idea: Let scientists write their own ethics code. According to a report in the Korean press, he is working on a 10-point ethics "charter." I wonder what it will say about cloning.

Euthanasia: The rise in support for medical killing has been slow—much slower than many of us expected—but it has been steady. Setbacks for the pro-euthanasia crowd, like serial killer Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who was recently interviewed by MSNBC while serving his sentence and was a terrible embarrassment to euthanasia supporters, has tended to make them more cautious. They now try to disguise their aims euphemistically as "physician-assisted suicide." It still involves the doctor deciding to kill the patient and coming up with the means, even if the patient actually takes the pills. Oregon's law has given those who favor killing a bridgehead in the U.S., though it is in the Netherlands (Holland) in Europe that euthanasia rules. And the Dutch have just decided to make it easier.

Meanwhile, the U.K. is coming closer than it has ever been to moving in the euthanasia direction. A recent report notes that medical opinion is in flux as the U.K. Parliament comes to debate a report that is favorable to the "Oregon" approach.

From embryos to euthanasia, life's sanctity and dignity are under pressure—as the frailest and most dependent of human beings come under the power and decision-making of the strong.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Previous Life Matters columns include:

Leon Kass, a Bioethics Legend, Steps Down | The man who led the President's Council on Bioethics brought protests from the industry and directed groundbreaking studies. (Sept. 21, 2005)

A Manufactured Womb of One's Own | The commodification of children and an admission of stem-cell hype. (Sept. 8, 2005)

The Stem-Cell Conspiracy | The Washington Post muddles a major breakthrough in adult stem-cell research, while the U.K. marches blindly on. (Aug. 29, 2005)

Brave New Puppy | Introducing our new life ethics weblog. (Aug. 10, 2005)

Britain Leads the (Wrong) Way | Embryos to be screened for cancer risk, "danger genes." (Aug. 17, 2005)

More CT articles on bioethics are available on our Life Ethics page.

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October (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49