Tougher scrutiny needed

A Christian Outlook has repeatedly drawn readers' attention to questions of bio-ethics. We communicated developments in the ongoing debates in other countries hoping that what happens overseas will be of help to the development of a debate over here. Before commenting on recent developments in Malta we think it would be interesting to note a recent contribution to the debate by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

He said that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has ruled on bioethical issues since 1990, is out of touch with public opinion and often does not consider the ethical dimensions of its decisions. The cardinal said he was concerned that the authority's members, who are appointed rather than elected, support controversial measures, such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or genetic screening, which could lead to so-called "designer babies".

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor did not just comment. He passed from words to action. With the support of Anglican and Jewish leaders, he is drawing up proposals for a bioethics committee. The religious leaders will eventually submit their proposals to the government for consideration, the cardinal said.

The cardinal's initiative was first revealed in a December 20 interview with The Daily Telegraph in which he said decisions taken by the authority were seen by many people as "contradictory and perplexing".

"In my view, the HFEA, which is a regulatory body with a small ethics sub-committee, is not an adequate body for dealing with the vast ethical implications of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis," the cardinal said. In his statement, the cardinal said the proposed bioethics committee would be composed of 20 to 30 experts drawn from among theologians, ethicists, scientists and doctors.

"There may well be a need for the authority to continue to regulate the industry. But when making its rulings it would be bound to adhere to the principles laid down by the proposed national bioethics committee," the cardinal said.

The cardinal said the proposed committee would be more accountable to the British public and it would be "much more likely that (its) conclusions would be informed by the deeper moral principles at stake".

The deep insight and outgoing attitude of Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor is very evident in another of his comments. He clearly stated: "The committee might sometimes come to conclusions that offended the Catholic Church's view of the sanctity of human life. But at least people would know how those conclusions had been reached."

A Christian Outlook has lobbied over and over again in favour of the need that the sector be covered by adequate legislation. Consequently we cannot not be happy to note that the Social Affairs Committee of our Parliament has been recently looking into the matter. The committee heard submissions from members of the Bio-Ethics Consultative Committee and other experts in the matter. We are also informed that a task force is working on possible legislation in the matter.

One hopes that the Church in Malta will constructively contribute to the debate. Statements armed simply with straightforward quotations from the Catechism are not what is to be expected. Like the Church in other countries, the Church in Malta has to show that it does its homework well. Otherwise it will not be given credibility and will not succeed to influence public opinion.