The Sunday Saint Paul Pioneer Press included a story on a young man with disabilities who is taking part in an experimental treatment that includes the use of embryonic stem cells.
We knew this day was coming. But this particular story was alarming because of how it positioned Christians against the interests of the embryonic person.
The young man suffered a severe injury in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. From all accounts he is a young man who trusts Christ and attends church regularly.
But he and his pastor are using profoundly flawed logic to justify the use of embryonic stem cells in this young man’s treatment.
In summary:
The cells implanted into his spine were obtained from embryos being discarded at fertility clinics, he notes.
“It’s not life. It’s not like they’re coming from an aborted fetus or anything like that. They were going to be thrown away,” he said. “Once they explained to me where the stem cells were coming from, once I learned that, I was OK with it.”
His pastor, Troy Bailey, of the Reynolds Holiness Church, came to the same conclusion:
Bailey realized he had to sort out his own stance, given that some people who, like him, oppose abortion also consider embryonic stem cell research to be immoral. But Bailey concluded that that he, too, believed the experimental treatment is acceptable because the cells were obtained from embryos that had never been implanted in a woman’s womb and so had no chance of developing into a fetus.
“I am adamantly against abortion in any form. It did cause me some searching and researching biblically what is the proper answer,” he said. “I don’t really see a baby’s life was destroyed for this to take place.”
‘Adamantly against abortion in any form,’ yet willing to use stem cells from embryos that were destroyed in the process.
It’s like one human being saying to another, “since I can’t save you, it’s ok for me to use you.”
The only difference between those embryos and an aborted baby is length of time in development and placement. The fact that the embryos were going to be discarded does not change the moral question one bit: they are still human beings.
This paper from Joni & Friends explains that we are dealing with a human:
Neurobiologist Maureen Condic, Senior Fellow at the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person, has forcefully argued that based on universally accepted scientific criteria, the human zygote/embryo comes into existence at the moment of sperm/egg fusion, an event that occurs in less than a second. Upon formation, the zygote immediately initiates a complex sequence of events that establish the conditions required for embryo development. The behavior of a zygote is radically unlike that of either sperm or egg and is characteristic of a human organism.
Like you, I want a cure for disabilities like what this young man is experiencing, but not at the expense of the very lives of other human beings. The fact that fertility clinics have hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos is a huge and vexing problem. But a clinic’s callous destruction of embryos does not change the morality of embryonic stem cell research or their use in other people.
The reporter for this story noted this irony:
Atchison’s story reveals provocative insights into one of the most closely watched medical experiments, including what some may see as an irony: that a treatment condemned on moral and religious grounds is viewed by the first person to pioneer the therapy, and his family, as part of God’s plan.
“It wasn’t just luck, or chance,” said Atchison, who thinks, six months after the treatment, that he may be feeling the first signs that the cells are helping him.
“It was meant to be.”
He is right – it isn’t luck or chance. God is always purposeful. And the temptations to seek out any rescue from his disabling condition will be strong. Very few people in this culture will think twice about the decision he made and won’t mind that he’s wrapped it in religious language.
But we must stand ready to trust that God has a better plan that does not require the destruction of smaller human beings to change our life circumstances. We must demonstrate that God is greater, more valuable, and more beautiful than comfort in this present age. We must not let the clear evidence of humanity be clouded by the circumstances of their destruction. We must support those who have made the harder, deeply personal decision to not participate in embryonic stem cell experiments, like Joni herself:
I want people to know that not all Americans with disabilities believe in using human embryos.
And when pastors make poor decisions, we must respectfully yet persistently call them back to the Bible to study it more carefully. We must, peacefully, continue to stand for the little ones who cannot speak for themselves. And we must be more proactive in serving and being served in our churches by those who live with life-long disabling conditions.
The Works of God 
Okay. Let’s call them back biblically now.
… So where’s the scripture in this article?
I guess the relevant biblical texts were assumed to be obvious – namely “thou shalt not kill.” At issue here isn’t the principle (as the pastor and young man under discussion both professed their disapproval of murder in utero), but its application, and the faulty logic employed to justify the usage of embryonic stem cells.
But there is a clear biblical logic – a sanctified line of inference drawn from the commandments.
Regarding the sixth commandment specifically, Jesus teaches us, with utmost clarity, that it doesn’t merely signify an injunction against murder. It also comprehends a command to honor and promote life wherever and whenever (practically and morally) possible. Hence, in light of this commandment, Jesus even calls us to pursue inter-personal reconciliation when sin has created a rift between us!
However, using stem cells from embryos – which constitute a full, genetic human being (as this particular young man and pastor agree) – is to personally benefit from the destruction of another human life. This hardly honors the other’s life, but, disturbingly, profits from its destruction.
This is perverse, and the rationale that says “it was going to be destroyed anyway” is a thinly veiled self-justification. It is akin to the sort of cold, unscrupulous pragmatism that argues “every child a wanted child,” which is to say…these children were doomed anyway.
This seems to me all the more troubling when stem cells can be harvested from willing donors. Was this case exceptional?
you guys are so wrong. sorry but it’s true. if that were you’re son , your eyes woul be opened.
Leanne, I do not understand your argument. Whether it is my son, or your son, or the authors son who has the disability, the principle does not change. Are you saying that it is ok to compromise one’s beliefs if and when they require a personal sacrifice?
What would you rather happen, the life be thrown away in the trash?
Don’t mean to be harsh, but that was the consequence anyway. Not sure if I agree with what happened, after all we don’t know what we would do anyway being put in that situation. Bottom line, its not your life its theirs. They will answer to God as will we all.
The problem is, by using these embryos, even though they may just be discarded for the present time (you may see this as some sort of recycling) is that you are creating more demand for the use of them. You are sending a message that you think is morally and ethically viable to use once fertilized embryos for some sort of research, regardless of whether or not they would be ‘thrown out.’ The Christian should support life in all aspects, as it is given as a gift of God, that all humans are made in His image (Gen 1:26) and that every human deserves the innate dignity given to them by the Creator. Even humans who may not be fully developed. The problem is that these situations are so morally ambiguous that they leave a lot of ground to create worse situations. If we are okay with using Embryos, because they aren’t fully developed and were never in a womb, then firstly we are saying that life is only valuable if it has potential to come to full-term, and also leave arbitrary grounds in regards to how developed is considered ‘developed enough.’ What happens if, in the name of Science, we continue to push the developmental period back further and further? Although it may never get to such a point, theoretically under that logic, one could justify experimentation of the mentally handicapped and psychotic.
The Christian believes that all human life is sacred and given by God, and it must be protected. We in no way should contribute to the demand for experiments on embryos, and furthermore we ought to fight against this injustice.
Even if it is our child who would benefit from research, beyond the fact that it is wrong to change clear Biblical morals because you are personally affected in a perceived negative fashion, it actually takes away God’s sovereignty over the disabled’s life. God can and has used (John 9, healing of the blind man) illnesses to speak of His majesty and power, who are we to take that from him? That is His prerogative to heal or not to heal those with serious illnesses as such. We should use medicine if it is available through moral and ethical practices, but if it isn’t, we should wait on God as healer.
I just wanted to point out that there is another alternative to Embryonic stem cells, ADULT STEM Cells.
There has also been amazing research on ADULT stem cells that have NOTHING to do with embryonic.
The problem with the adult stems cells is the money. People can not make as much money with adult stem cells in research/sales etc as they can in embryonic.
It is sad that the people in the article were only given two choices… embryonic stem cells or none.
I actually take a natural supplement that increases my adult stem cells in my body. So… there are other options out there. We don’t have to be against stem cell research… lets just shift it to ADULT stem cells. God made us with those stem cells, we have them in our bodies already… they are truly amazing.
We don’t have to sacrifice the unborn for science. My son has autism but I’d never give him any kind of treatment with embryonic stem cells… they are SO unstable.
How easy it is to fall into error! “They were going to be thrown away.” How easy it is for any of us to be deceived.
When told that the embryonic lives are “going to be thrown away,” one must have sufficient skepticism to ask, oh really? Is this an absolute certainty these embryonic lives are “going to” be thrown away? By whom? And why? Is there no possibility that they could be implanted or adopted? If they are worthless bits of protoplasm that are good for nothing but to be discarded, then why have they not been discarded already?
May we all be wise as serpents yet innocent as doves.
>It’s like one human being saying to another, “since I can’t save you, it’s ok for me to use you.”
Isn’t that implicitly what happens when we transplant organs from the freshly dead? Or even more analogously, start prepping someone who isn’t dead yet for transplant on the basis they’re unsaveable?
@Jeff, You are so right – Wise as serpents. I believe it was a serpent that caused all this convoluted logic that ‘bribed’ this young man and his pastor to make a wrong decision. Harken back to the Garden of Eden. A twist of word here, a bit of pride there. Oh, we are all so gullible in one way or another. We must pray for all believers to be strong!
Thank you for this stand. There is so much confusion out there and this article outlines the truth of the matter. Praying for blinded eyes to be opened….
I agree with you, John. I will not trade my son’s future eternal weight of glory for this vapor’s breath bowl of stew.
The article indicates that these stem cells were obtained from a fertility clinic which means that they were a product of extra fertilized eggs from and in-vetro-fertilization process where a couple will fertilize a few eggs and the best fit is inserted into the mothers uterus so they are able to have children. This has nothing to do with aborted babies. I am not arguing that these procedures are morally or doctrinally correct but I think rather than making this young man who has already been through so much feel judged on this decision if you have a problem the these clinics take pro-active steps to do something about it. Research other fertility treatments , find ways we can raise money for these family’s have in-vetro fertilization without fertilizing ten eggs at a time ( the reason they do so many at once is because of the cost) This young man made a decision that he consulted his pastor about whether you believe it is right or wrong does not matter, if you have disagree with where these stem cells are coming from take pro active steps to do something about it.
The problem is the determined ignorance of the author(s) and some commentators on here. THEY WERE BEING DISCARDED!!!! Wake up people its not like they were advocating the “farming” of embryos!!!!!!!
@Kevin, It is like someone already said. This is causing a demand. A demand will create a market and an industry. Maybe not tomorrow (yeah right), but someday. Give these children a decent burial as you would any human. I learned this past weekend that some goofy pro-life person believes that embryos are not human if they are outside the womb.
Man will have to answer for trying to play god. But God himself would NEVER do what we do. Thankfully!