Protecting the unborn: all is not lost

Public opinion was regrettably swept aside this past week to clear the way for the creation of animal-human embryos, fatherless children through IVF and so-called "saviour siblings". Christians who raised legitimate ethical - and scientific - concerns were simply sidelined by the Government, scientists and the media and caricatured as nothing more than uncaring religious fundamentalists.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As a number of Christian and pro-life campaigners pointed out in recent days, countless women go through abortion only to feel tortured with guilt over what they have done. They need our care, and women contemplating abortion need to be informed of the compassionate alternatives, like adoption or going ahead with the pregnancy, and to feel supported in carrying through those decisions.

Furthermore, it is precisely because Christians care so much about the most vulnerable in society - the unborn child - that they continue to campaign for their respect and protection.

This may seem laughable to people who regard the embryo as nothing more than a lifeless ball of skin and about as human as an ant or greenfly. Christians, however, believe that all life - especially human life, no matter how tiny - was created by God, in His image, as a blessing and a gift to the world. It is no surprise, therefore, that Christians feel deeply pained that such fragile life is being disregarded, devalued and, ultimately, destroyed with ever increasing ease.

It is particularly alarming that the 'fundamentalist' label has been pinned to a number of very normal Christians for little more than disagreeing with the established view. It is worth mentioning that the concerns of Christians for the unborn child - and indeed other aspects of the HFE Bill - mirror the concerns of many people in Britain who are not necessarily Christian.

It is right to question science's apparent unfettered right of way. The green light for animal-human embryos is a case in point, demonstrating all too clearly that the science of today is becoming dangerously detached from ethical standards. In an era that knows no bounds in science or elsewhere, there has never been a greater need to ensure that 'possible' does not become interchangeable with 'permissible'.

As R David Muir, Public Policy Executive Director at the Evangelical Alliance, put it this week: "Just because science can do something doesn't mean that it should, and when rights begin to be more associated with adult preferences than protection of the weak and vulnerable, then we should be concerned about the consequences for society."

He continues: "The drive for human improvement must not be allowed to trump the need to protect against harm and it is worrying to note the prevalence today of uncertainty and inconsistency relating to where ethical boundaries should be drawn, or indeed whether there should be any ethical boundaries at all.

"There is a growing disparity between what scientists and politicians are promoting and the opinion of the general public, who are increasingly uncomfortable with a utilitarian approach to human life."

The application of ethics to science may feel like the hangman's noose to some researchers, yet it is necessary to ensure that scientific processes do not become simply a means to an end, with little or no consideration for what happens in the middle, or at whose cost progress is made.

All could seem lost, were it not for a number of Christians like Mr Muir who have embraced positively the challenges that lie ahead in awakening this nation to the preciousness of life, even at its conceptual stages.

Dan Boucher, Director of Parliamentary Affairs for CARE is another. "May 20th 2008 was a very bad day in the history of our nation. I hope that it will serve to provoke Christians to engage in the public square with greater energy and wisdom and that God will turn the tide," he said.

Indeed. The past week might have seen one disheartening blow after another for Christians, pro-life campaigners and of course the unborn child, but it is encouraging that Christians are refusing to throw in the towel when it comes to campaigning for life.

"'I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (NIV Romans 11.4 - 5)