An eloquent appeal to the British government, more concerned by the debate on fox-hunting than by the “future of our species”, has recently been made by the primate of England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor. In response to the disturbing news of the removal of ovaries from an aborted foetus by Israeli and Dutch scientists, and the creation in the USA of an hermaphrodite embryo, events that underline the need for a “serious ethical reflection not only in our country, but everywhere”, the cardinal used a provocative tone of irony to awaken the consciences of English politicians: “Is not the foetus more important than the fox? When will we begin to debate the ethics of the future of our species with anything like the passion and the thoroughness, that we debate the future of our foxes? The pace and sophistication of scientific development is far outstripping our capacity to understand and grapple with the profound ethical dilemmas that each new piece of research presents”. What do these latest events say “about the sanctity of human life and its transmission?” reflects O’Connor, convinced that the time has come “for a constructive and informed debate at the level of the general public, which is not driven by vested or commercial interests” to avoid the danger “of wholesale intellectual and moral disengagement from issues of enormous significance for us all, as human beings”. For abortion, euthanasia, genetic manipulations and research of embryos “the utilitarian approach in the broad sense seems wholly inadequate”, concludes the cardinal; these are issues that need to be tackled in the light of objective moral principles, “beginning with the duty to respect and protect human life at every stage”.
