Sanctity of Life Issues

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Sanctity of Life Issues

• Dr J Huw C Morgan MBChB MRCGP Cert Med Ed ILTM
• Consultant in International Family Medicine
  Education and Development

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Sanctity of Life Issues Three Warnings

• 1.This is not a theoretical intellectual
  discussion all of you will be touched by at
  least one aspect of these things during your
  life.
• 2. A child dies every 3 seconds in the two-thirds
  world (30,000 a day) from preventable diseases
  and hunger. If we take a high view of the
  sanctity of human life, we must address this
  tragedy also
• 3. There arent tidy biblical answers to all the
  questions

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Session outline

• Brian storm the issues
• Brief look at historical perspective
• Consider Biblical perspectives
• Summarise relevant biology
• Summarise various Christian views
• Discuss some case studies together

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What are the issues?

• Abortion
• Euthanasia (end of life decisions)
• New reproductive technologies (IVF etc)
• PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis of
  embryos)
• Embryo research and harvesting of stem cells
• Bio-technology (Gene therapy, Cloning etc)

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Historical background

• Until the end of WW2 Western Europe/UK laws and
  practice largely reflected Christian principles
  in this area. The Hippocratic Oath, that guided
  medical practice for centuries, is also
  consistent with Christian principles.

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I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit
of the sick according to my ability and judgment
I will keep them from harm and injustice. I
will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who
asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to
this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman
an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will
guard my life and my art.Whatever houses I may
visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick,
remaining free of all intentional injustice, of
all mischief and in particular of sexual
relations with both female and male persons, be
they free or slaves.What I may see or hear in
the course of the treatment or even outside of
the treatment in regard to the life of men, which
on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep
to myself, holding such things shameful to be
spoken about.
Translation from the Greek by Ludwig Edelstein.
From The Hippocratic Oath Text, Translation, and
Interpretation, by Ludwig Edelstein. Baltimore
Johns Hopkins Press, 1943.
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Historical background

• Until the end of WW2 Western Europe/UK laws and
  practice largely reflected Christian principles
  in this area. The Hippocratic Oath, that guided
  medical practice for centuries, is also
  consistent with Christian principles.
• Pressure to change laws as a result of increasing
  secularisation resulted in a legislative changes
  in 1960s, that then changed medical and general
  cultural views in UK and the Western World.
• Rapidly evolving technology has added to the
  complexity of ethical issues in medicine, in the
  context of an increasingly secular society.

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Biblical views

• Genesis 1, 26-27
• What does it mean?
• Exodus 3,14
• Psalm 8, 3-5
• References to pregnancy Exodus 21, 22-23 Psalm
  139, 13-16 Job 10,8-12 Isaiah 44,2 Luke 1,
  41-44

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Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology
x
Fertilisation occurs here at end of fallopian tube
x
Implantation occurs here inside uterus, 3-4 days
later
Seminal fluid containing sperm deposited here
60 of fertilised ova fail to implant
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Blastocyst in Fallopian tube(the very beginnings
of a new human life)
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Human embryo development(Embryo first 8 weeks.
Primitive streak formation begins at 14 days
this begins cell differentiation, nervous system
and organ development)
Brain waves detectable at 6 weeks
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Christian views of embryo/unborn child

• MedievalEnsoulment at quickening
  outdated/unbiblical concept!
• Embryo absolutist (all embryos from
  fertilisation are to be regarded as human life)
• Embryo gradualist (all implanted, 14 day and
  later stage embryos are to be regarded as human
  life)
• (Embryo research is legal in UK on embryos up to
  14 days old)
• Abortion conservative (abortion is wrong in
  virtually all circumstances)
• Abortion conditionalist (abortion is the lesser
  evil in some circumstances)
• (Abortion is legal in UK up to 24 weeks if
  opinion of two doctors agree it is in mothers
  best interest- so called social abortion
• It is legal up to full term for an abnormal
  foetus or risk to mothers life)

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End of life issues Christian views

• Absolutist (any act of omission or commission to
  shorten life is always wrong)
• Conditional (acts of omission may sometimes be
  appropriate to allow death to occur- ie
  non-application or withdrawal of medical
  technology)
• (Euthanasia remains illegal in the UK. Advanced
  directives signed and witnessed have legal
  authority to require the non-application or
  withdrawal of treatment in certain explicit
  circumstances. It is likely that some kind of
  euthanasia bill will get through parliament in
  the next few years.)

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Case discussions

• Tracy, a fifteen year old member of the church
  youth group, is assaulted and raped one night on
  her way home from a friends house. 3 weeks later
  she discovers she is pregnant.
• What advice/support would you give Tracy and her
  parents?

• Gavin is a twenty year old student from the
  church. He has an accident on his bicycle at his
  university town and suffers a major head injury.
  After some weeks doctors advise that he is in a
  persistent vegetative state and very unlikely
  to recover it would be best to let him die by
  withdrawing tube feeding.
• How should Gavins parents
• respond?

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Case Discussions

• Primrose is an 88 year old member of the church
  who had become demented and is cared for in an
  elderly persons home. She doesnt know anyone
  anymore and cannot feed herself or attend to
  basic hygiene and toileting needs. She develops a
  chest infection.
• Is it appropriate to treat this?

• Teresa (married to Graham both church
  members), is pregnant of the first time. During
  the pregnancy it is found that baby (a male) has
  Edwards syndrome an incurable genetic disorder
  that means he will die in infancy. They are
  advised to have an abortion.
• How should they respond?

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Further Reading

• www.cmf.org.uk/ethics/
• Matters of Life and Death Published by IVP and
  CMF (2000)Author John Wyatt ISBN 0-85111-588-8
  Price 9.99
• http//stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/