Everyday Bioethics. It sounds deceptively simple, or fatuous. How can bioethics be “everyday”? Is bioethics the exclusive affair of earnest scientists? Perhaps we should relegate it to the lofty realms of academia. We say “no.” Bioethics concerns us all. How can we unpack apparently complex developments in biomedicine and biotechnology for the informed layperson, without compromising clear-eyed reasoning? How can we help people think and make decisions about life-and-death situations, enhancement, stewardship, justice, and a plethora of other bioethical issues?
This was the genesis of a weekly radio commentary. Everyday Bioethics is a three-minute examination of one real-life case, related to at least one bioethical principle. CBHD piloted this audio project with Moody Radio in October 2009.
Recent scenarios include serial surrogacy, sperm donors, cord blood donation, surgical enhancement, prosthetic arms, and genetic discrimination. None of these are hypothetical cases, and some are examples from my own experience. One of the reasons people shy away from bioethical engagement is the sheer number and technical complexity of biomedical discoveries and technological inventions. I rely on other experts to make sure I grasp the basic science, and you can, too. Behind many innovations is the desire to make life more pleasant, whether it is by healing disease, restoring function after injury, postponing the ravages of aging, enhancing our cognitive capacities, overcoming bodily limitations (such as the need for sleep), or compensating for a perceived genetic slight.
Tucked inside each commentary is a sophisticated ethical idea, expressed in commonly shared language. Listeners are exposed to virtue ethics, natural law reasoning, Kantian philosophy, instrumentalism, utilitarianism, pragmatism, the precautionary principle, divine command, and so forth. Even if the principles are clear, the application may be more nuanced. At times, the answer to a bioethical dilemma may be elucidated by posing the correct question. At other times, it may involve a conclusion that does not satisfy, either because it requires additional inquiry, or demands a change in behavior that is inconvenient or that quite possibly involves suffering.
Sometimes I pose a question for the listener to think about. When I discussed a father’s unusual graduation gift for his daughter, I asked all of us to think about hidden messages: “What does this gift of plastic surgery mean for Megan with her new implants?”[1] Or, in introducing toys that interface computer and brain, I suggested that “A good question to start with is: Will I control the technology, or will it control me?”[2]
I also include a perspective targeted directly at Christians: “As Christians, we know that….” In the commentary on infants born with fatal defects, I challenged us to think differently about prenatal diagnosis and the pressure to terminate the pregnancy by abortion:
As Christians, we must resist the pressure to decide which fetuses will live or die. As sad as it is say “goodbye” to a newborn, it is even more sad to be the reason the infant never had a chance to hear “hello.” We are called to welcome all little humans, no matter what the world tells us.[3]
Although many arguments can be framed in terms understood by those outside our faith tradition, we know that ultimately all truth is God’s truth. We can claim that explicitly and without apology. But this raises the bar. Christians are not called to the minimum ethical standard, but to a higher level of ethical word and deed. At CBHD, we believe a key part of our purpose is to challenge God’s people to live consistently with what we understand and say we believe. This is easier said than done. For example, if we believe that the embryo, who is biologically a complete human being at fertilization, is also a complete human person, will we avoid those technologies that treat the embryo as a product, and not a person?
Everyday Bioethics is an experiment in translation and communication. The commentary illustrates CBHD’s dual commitment to excellence in scholarship and broad accessibility. We anticipate, research, and analyze the pressing bioethical issues of our day. At the same time, we must translate this work for a variety of professional and lay audiences. Using the tools of rigorous research, conceptual analysis, charitable critique, leading-edge publication, and effective teaching, we equip thought influencers and church leaders. They (and you) need resources that are theologically and ethically sound, and that can be applied in everyday situations.
Those of you within the Chicago Moody Radio broadcast area (90.1 FM) can listen on Tuesday mornings around 6:10 a.m. Moody also makes the commentary available via streaming and posting the transcripts on their website (www.wmbi.mbn.org). I welcome your questions and comments about our experiment engaging bioethics in everyday life. We are pursuing the opportunity to expand its reach through one of our websites and in other venues, and you can help us make improvements to this new resource (info@cbhd.org).
[1] Everyday Bioethics, Episode 9 “Enhancement: Gift or Burden?” Airdate December 22, 2009.
[2] Everyday Bioethics, Episode 10 “Consumers of Technology,” Airdate January 12, 2010.
[3] Everyday Bioethics, Episode 8 “Empty Mangers,” Airdate December 8, 2009.
Paige Comstock Cunningham, "From the Director's Desk,” Dignitas 16, no. 3 (2009): 2.