Bioethics
Updated Dec. 21, 2007
The rapid pace of advances in biomedical research has generated a lively public discussion on the morality of embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. Nearly every mainstream religious group that has officially taken a position on human cloning for reproductive purposes has condemned it, but the response of religious communities to stem cell research has been mixed. The Catholic Church and many evangelical Protestant groups have called for a ban on all embryonic stem cell research, saying it is an assault on innocent human life. Most mainline Christian churches and Jewish groups, on the other hand, favor embryonic stem cell research, pointing to potential cures for medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
According to an August 2007 survey by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 51% of Americans say it is more important to conduct stem cell research than to not destroy the embryos involved in such research. This is up from the 43% who expressed this view in March 2002, but down slightly from the 57% who expressed this view in July 2005. Among religious groups, solid majorities of the religiously unaffiliated (68%), white mainline Protestants (58%) and white non-Hispanic Catholics (59%) support stem cell research. However, support for stem cell research is much lower (46%) among white non-Hispanic Catholics who attend religious services at least weekly. A majority (57%) of white evangelical Protestants say that it is more important to avoid destroying potential human life than to conduct stem cell research, a view that is particularly pronounced among white evangelicals who attend church at least weekly (68%).
The Pew Forum offers a variety of resources that probe the relationship between religion, science and public policy, including reports, polling data, event transcripts and the latest news.
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Stem Cell Research
End-of-Life Issues
Pew Forum Resources on Bioethics
