Ethical Criteria Outlined for Use of Genetically Modified Organisms

 

Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 10, August 2003

Vatican Official Urges Respect for Biodiversity

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 18, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Recourse to genetically modified organisms calls for proof of their usefulness as well as a verification of the risks involved, says a Vatican official and expert on the matter.

Given the debates within the Catholic world on the subject, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and director of the Bioethics Center of Rome's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, spoke on a recent program on Vatican Radio.

"First of all," the bishop said Aug. 5, "there must not be blind opposition to man's intervention on plants and animals in the genetic field, when the latter does not cause harm and is useful to man himself."

Second, there must be scientific verification of "the risks ... both on the natural and pharmaceutical products as well as on the genetically modified organisms themselves," he said.

"It is the verification of the risk, the so-called principle of precaution. Until now no very serious risks have been reported. I think that progress is being made with due caution, with a kind of experimentation before introducing these products in the market," Bishop Sgreccia said. In this connection, he added that it is necessary to respect the "ecological balance, namely, respect for biodiversity." "The new species must not supplant the pre-existing ones," he said. "Biodiversity must be safeguarded in the world, as it is wealth for all."

"In the third place, the citizen must be informed," namely, when these products are commercialized they must have a "label," the Vatican official said. He added that the introduction of genetically modified organisms must respect "the economic ethic at the international level."

In other words, "genetically modified products must not serve for the exclusive use of enterprises, of great industries," the bishop said. "Industries must benefit from a just profit, but must not be turned into a monopoly which becomes a serious burden for those needing to take recourse to these products."

"The question on biotechnologies, moreover, must not be used with protectionist objectives," he said. The bishop explained that there "must be a balance, respect for the ethical concerns of the market, not only for the ethical concerns of health."

In a word, according to Bishop Sgreccia, the key lies in harmonizing "science -- with its undoubted capacity to develop, to verify objectives truths of an experimental character -- and ethics, which must relate the resources of the sciences to human values and persons, which must be at the center."

When addressing the Ministerial Conference on Biotechnology, held in Sacramento, California, in June, Archbishop Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, explained that the Holy See is gathering information on the problem in order to develop "a clear view on the use of GMOs."

Toi te Taiao: Use of Human Genes in Other Organisms

Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 14, November 2004

Earlier this year Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council undertook a process of dialogue with New Zealanders on the cultural, spiritual and ethical issues arising from the use of human genes in other organisms. The process involved using focus groups to identify the issues, followed by a programme of dialogue meetings and 12 hui, an online dialogue process and written submissions. The Council presented its report to the Minister for the Environment, Marion Hobbs, in August.

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Xenotransplantation: A Spiritual Perspective

John Kleinsman
Issue 15, April 2005

Xenotransplantation is defined as the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. In the wake of a worldwide shortage of organs, and transplant waiting lists that will continue to accelerate due to an aging population, animals are being seen as offering a potentially unlimited supply of organs and tissues.

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ERMA and Ethical Issues

Nathaniel Centre Staff
Issue 16, August 2005

On 1 July 2011, the Government announced the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) as a Crown agent responsible to the Minister for the Environment, incorporating all of the functions and powers of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA).

The Environmental Risk Management Agency (ERMA) recently established an Ethics Advisory Panel to assist in dealing with ethical aspects of applications made to ERMA under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act).

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Editorial: Bioethics and Politics: The Axing of the Bioethics Council, Toi te Taiao

Michael McCabe
Issue 27, April 2009

The recent axing of the Bioethics Council – Toi te Taiao – by the National Government is a matter of regret and real concern.

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Synthetic Life: Playing God? No, Not Yet.

John France
Issue 31, August 2010

The physical and biological characteristics of nearly all living organisms are largely determined by the genes possessed through inheritance from both parents, though some simple organisms including most bacteria have only a single parent. Genes consist of paired strands of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) linked in a coiled double helix and are commonly packaged in structures called chromosomes and located in the nucleus of a cell. Together, they constitute the genome of the individual. Recently, J. Craig Venter (a genome researcher) and his 23 collaborators reported the design, synthesis and assembly of a new subspecies of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides. This remarkable achievement, attracting attention worldwide, was the first time an organism had come into being with an artificial genome in place of an inherited one, that is, it was a synthetic life form. In their paper in the May 20th online issue of Sciencexpress, the researchers describe how they created a cell containing a chromosomal genetic system in which the DNA had been chemically synthesized in sequences designed by a computer programme based on published gene sequences of M. mycoides. This cell exhibited the expected observable characteristics (phenotype) and was capable of continuous self-replication.

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"It's life Jim but not as we know it."

Rev Dr Graham O'Brien - On behalf of the Interchurch Bioethics Council
Issue 31, August 2010

In May 2010 scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced the creation of the first self-replicating synthetic bacterial cell, however claims that the Venter team had created new life are an over exaggeration (CNN: "Scientists Create a Living Organism.") What the scientists have done is to make a synthetic copy of a bacterial genome - the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides - and insert this into another bacterium Mycoplasma capricolum , resulting in a self-replicating cell controlled solely by the synthetic genome - effectively turning Mycoplasma capricolum into Mycoplasma mycoides. The result is the culmination of 15 years of research and marks a significant development in our understanding of how DNA controls cellular growth and also represents the construction of the largest synthetic molecule of a defined structure.

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"God, meet Synthia. Synthia, this is God."

John Kleinsman
Issue 31, August 2010 

The creation of the first life form with a totally synthetic genome, affectionately dubbed "Synthia," has generated huge interest. While some would claim that J. Craig Venter and his team have mimicked the creation of life rather than originating something new, there is no doubt that it represents, as Julian Savulescu puts it, "a step towards something more controversial: [the] creation of living beings with capacities and natures that could never have naturally evolved." [1] Savulescu has also noted that while the potential for good is real and significant, even though far in the future, "the risks are also unparalleled." [2]

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