2 - 2002
Ethics in modern medicine
"I am afraid a door has been opened”
An interview with Bishop Johannes Friedrich
The horror scenarios which are possible consequences of research on embryos can be evoked by a few key words: surrogate mothers, pregnancies among senior citizens, human clones, "designer” babies, checking of embryos as standard procedure, Petri dish eugenics ...
Chrismon: Bishop Friedrich, when do you believe that human life begins?
Johannes Friedrich: It isn’t possible, biologically, to give a completely unambiguous answer. Thus, in an ethical discussion, there is good reason to choose the point in time which carries the least risk in terms of ethical judgement. That is clearly the moment of fusion of the egg and sperm cells.
Why does this point in time carry the least risk?
Friedrich:At every later point that might be chosen, the danger increases of making an arbitrary decision as to when life begins. As far as we know, an individual life begins with the fusion of the egg and sperm cells. The possible conclusions which could be drawn regarding any interference with this human life from that point on might include the destruction of human life.
The German Bundestag voted on 30 January to allow embryonic stem cells to be imported under strictly defined conditions. Why did the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), of which you are a member, wish this decision had been otherwise?
Friedrich:I am afraid that with this decision a door has been opened which we will not be able to close again. It can lead to research using embryos becoming a matter of course here in Germany as well. If researchers are now allowed to import cell lines from other countries, they will soon be asking for more. The day before the Bundestag vote, further-reaching demands were indeed already being made by researchers. Thus we feel justified in thinking that this decision only sets a very temporary limit.
Don’t you think that research could be governed in the long run by criminal law, especially if in the end we will perhaps gain some new ways of curing diseases?
Friedrich:Nobody knows whether these new ways of curing disease will ever become reality. There are many who say that research on adult stem cells has better chances of leading to new treatments. Several researchers have told me that they have no idea whether stem cell research is at all the right way towards new ways of curing diseases. In view of these prospects I don’t feel it is legitimate to weigh possible opportunities for new treatments on one hand against the certainty, on the other hand, that it means taking human lives.
The EKD and the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference unanimously rejected the Bundestag’s decision and even gave a press conference together. Shouldn’t these two churches also be able to agree on the abortion issue?
Friedrich:I think we are very much in agreement on the abortion issue. Abortion means taking a human life, and taking a human life is against the law. On that there is no difference at all between the Protestant and Catholic churches. Where we have different opinions and different practices is on the issue of church participation in government advice centres for pregnant women. We Protestants think that we can contribute more towards saving human lives if we participate in the giving of advice. The Catholic Church believes that its witness is clearer if it does not participate. My opinion is that if we can save even one human life through our counselling of pregnant women, it has been worthwhile.
Are you considering bringing suit, together with the Catholics, in the Federal Constitutional Court against the law which is now being written?
Friedrich:It isn’t clear whether the churches would have any right to sue in this case. When we have the actual wording of the law we will consider whether it is advisable. For my part, I don’t believe a lawsuit would make sense as a political step.
Johannes Friedrich, 53, has been Bishop of the Evangelical Church Lutheran Church in Bavaria since 1999, and a member of the EKD Council since 2001. He was previously Provost in Jerusalem. The interviewer was Reinhard Mawick of the journal Chrismon; the interview was published in Nr. 3/2002.