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What's more—and this undercuts the rhetoric we keep hearing about "American falling behind"—there are very large sums of private money and state money being poured into this field, driven by the hype that has turned "stem-cell politics" into front-page news.

Why Ethics Matters for Business
In the same report, an intriguing comment is quoted from a patent attorney, who puts his finger on one of the biggest issues we face in the 21st century. "The uncertainty and social controversy surrounding stem-cell research has discouraged many biotech companies and investors from embracing the technology," said Gareth Williams, a patent attorney with London-based Marks & Clerk.

Controversy undermines investment; ethics, therefore, are good for business! Savvy observers of the European experience with "genetically modified" foods and the vast stem-cell controversy (here in the U.S. and in Europe) have come to a simple conclusion. People have to believe in products if they are going to be successful. Even if some people believe in them, it does not take too many who are worried or offended or believe them to be immoral to sink the market—because investors will put their dollars somewhere safer.

That isn't the only reason ethics matters. But it's a lesson that the more brazen advocates of biotech had better learn fast.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Previous Life Matters columns include:

Human Nature on Trial | Tomorrow's "godlike, massively intelligent machines." Plus: Our nanotech future and some good news on stem cells that really work. (April 12, 2006)

Outsourcing Birth: Let an Indian Woman Have Your Baby | Plus: Good news from Europe on stem-cell funding. (April 5, 2006)

The Abortion Agenda: South Dakota's Move in Context | Plus: The latest on the biopolicy agenda and some outrageous lies on stem cells. (March 30, 2006)

Our Cloning Friends, the Brits | The U.K. and disaffected American researchers lash out at U.S. cloning laws. (March 17, 2006)

The Truth, the Partial Truth, and Nothing but Evasions | How to sell unethical science. (March 2, 2006)

The Pursuit of Enhancement | The latest from Brave New Britain. (Feb. 22. 2006)

Poaching Eggs | The latest sad story from the Korean soap opera—and a lack of Talent in Missouri (Feb. 17, 2006)

The State of the Human | President Bush sets out a vital agenda for ethics. (Feb. 2, 2006)

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

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April (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50