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President Bush mentioned another key technology issue elsewhere in his speech—nanotechnology, the technology of tiny particles and processes and, perhaps, tiny machines, which is being heralded as "the" technology of the 21st century. He said he would be increasing funding for it, and left it at that. But, as Congress has made clear, the nano ethical, legal, and social issues (NELSI) are enormously important. All the abuses of biotech and more may soon be replicated using this new technology, unless we keep it under clear ethical control. If we do, then as with ethical biotech (including the amazing advances in adult stem-cell research), we can look forward with confidence to nano solving many of our problems.

We must not take this extraordinary situation for granted. Whatever our political views may be (and Christians can be Democrats, Republicans, and other things besides), this particular President has vigorously defended human dignity against the ravages of unethical biotechnology. For that we must thank God and engage afresh in the task of asserting that human dignity in our national life.

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Previous Life Matters columns include:

Are You My Sperm Donor? | Plus: Another Hwang turn, more small surprises, and other life ethics stories. (Jan. 26, 2006)

Breeding Humans Like Rabbits? | From the frying pan into the fire. (Jan. 20, 2006)

The Prospects for 2006 | Deeper into the (Christian?) biotech century. (Jan. 9, 2006)

Peter Singer Meets Dr. Hwang | The ethics of the Brave New World. (Jan. 5, 2006)

Bethlehem's Bioethics | Christmas in the early 21st century. (Dec. 22, 2005)

A Common Cause for Our Common Humanity | Left and right come together in defense of us. (Dec. 14, 2005)

Face Off—and Back On | Face transplants raise more questions than answers. (Dec. 8, 2005)

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

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February (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50