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But what are they protesting? Perhaps it is all too clear: They are protesting out of hope, out of a worked-up, hyped hope; protesting against reality; demonstrating the capacity of the human heart to engage in wishful thinking; and showing how easily a smart, deceitful man can make dupes of everyone from his own government to sick people and their loved ones to editors of the world's leading journals and, it would seem, to a famed American scientist who was only too willing to jump on his bandwagon (and his patents). These sorry protesters, and the terrible suicide, are the world's most powerful illustration of what happens when boosters of unethical science get their message out, and their web of fantasy overcomes the solid sadness of the real world.

If the 21st century is really going to be the "biotech century," the world—from governments and editors down to patients and their relatives—needs to learn this lesson well.

And in Missouri, an army of one—and a lack of Talent
According to the Kansas City Star, Missouri GOP Senator Jim Talent has engaged in perhaps the strangest gyration of any politician on the cloning question. He is apparently under great pressure from GOP backers in the state who support the cloning ambitions of local universities and well-heeled foundations. At the same time, he is a beneficiary of strong political support from the pro-life movement in a state with one of the most vigorous and influential pro-life movements in the nation.

What he seems to have done is this: withdrawn his support for the bipartisan Brownback-Landrieu anti-cloning bill in the U.S. Senate, maintained that he is still opposed to all cloning, and enthused about the possibility of growing "embryonic" stem cells without the need to develop embryos at all. This option has been much discussed in the pro-life movement as well as the scientific community, and some believe it to be technically possible and ethically acceptable. But it is only acceptable if it really does not create embryos—not if it creates deformed, dying embryos. And if it does not create embryos, then the Brownback-Landrieu bill, which bans cloning, would not get in its way.

Senator Talent may have thought his move a smart one—taking some political heat off his back while at the same time enabling him to welcome ethical science. But he now has no political friends on the issue: He's an army of one, and the sooner he comes back into the fold, the better for the cause of ethical biotech—and his political career.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Previous Life Matters columns include:

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

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)

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

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February (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50