behind research headlines
A woman has tuberculosis, and the father has syphilis. Together they had four children. Their first child was born blind... The second child was stillborn... The third child was deaf and
dumb...and their fourth was born with tuberculosis. They’re now pregnant with their fifth child. Would you recommend that they abort this child? 7
If respondents answer ‘yes’, they are told that they ‘just killed Beethoven’. The point is well taken that we cannot predict the outcome from even the most apparently terrible circumstances, but the problem is that, on further investigation, the details given in this brief scenario appear to be false. 8 This often leads to a dismissive reaction to any other good arguments based on good evidence and sound reasoning.
interpret research wisely
How do we apply our Christian minds to the latest developments mentioned in the BMJ, BMA News, or daily newspapers? We suggest a number of questions that we can ask ourselves (and other people), to ensure that our reaction displays a love of God as well as a love of our neighbour.
30 the values behind enhancement10 R
esearch into human treatment is aimed at assisting the injured, the disabled, those afflicted with genetic disease (eg gene therapy for cystic fibrosis). But will human desire
for such technological advances in treatment stop at this or will it lead on to calls for ‘enhancement’ (eg gene therapy to enhance intelligence or prevent ageing)?
The rush to an enhanced ‘transhuman’ state, in which certain human beings have capabilities that the rest lack, will inevitably create a two-tier society, as in Brave New World. The technology may initially be used for (and justified by) medical purposes. But just like plastic surgery, it will undoubtedly come to be a consumer product, demanded and paid for to suit people’s desires and whims - as long as they can afford it. Despite the advocacy of Dr Kevin Warwick (Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University and the self-styled first ‘cyborg’ 11
), most people, especially from the developing world, will not have a choice in the matter.
identify the key issues We need to be clear what the specific problem or dilemma is. What disease is being investigated and what is being proposed? What would the proposal add to the current treatment? How does this research add to medical knowledge?
establish the facts Next, we need to be clear about the exact facts of the matter. What is being claimed and on what basis are those claims made? This is similar to applying our critical faculties to any evidence-based medicine issue. Is the claim well-founded? Was the
research rigorous in its method and do the results appear likely on the basis of current scientific achievements elsewhere? What is the bottom line claim and how does that relate to the evidence? Is this the only interpretation of the evidence or the most likely one? Is there causation or simply a correlation of effects (possibly due to an unconsidered factor)?
identify the relevant values By this time, something of the researchers’ worldview, or at least their values, will have come across. These need to be sought explicitly and compared to your own. Ethical values are
nucleus easter ‘09
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