by Diane Willey

At the time of publication, Diane Willey, NDS, was an associate director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the coordinator of the Centre's interfaith department.

Media headlines such as "Medical Miracles, Ethical Dilemmas" and "Slippery Logic Paves Way to Euthanasia" and "Learning to Read the Book of Life" capture somewhat the amazed and perplexed and bewildering mode in which many of us find ourselves after the initial euphoria over, for instance, the cloning of a sheep named "Dolly", or the research published on the astonishing possibilities of pluripotent stem cells, or the new horizons emerging in organ transplantation, or the sequencing of DNA in the human genome which is also called the book of life.

With time, euphoria gives way to wrestling with the implications of these and other contemporary scientific advances. What do they promise for a better quality of life -- and of dying -- for future generations across the globe? What can they provide in terms of the alleviation of pain, or the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases that claim so many victims still? What wonders of reproductive technology might benefit rather than threaten our children's children? In the midst of all of this there is also a sense and perhaps a fear of human limitation in terms of boundaries that cannot be crossed responsibly, at least not yet.

This issue of Ecumenism ventures into the arena of the ethical aspect of some of the current developments in medical practice and genetic research. It brings to this encounter the resources that faith provides. Here Aboriginal, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh perspectives are presented. Some of the authors focus on a particular issue such as assisted suicide, or organ donation/transplantation, or ethical questions relevant to Native medicinal traditions. Other writers provide direction for reflection on a selection of bioethical issues such as those affecting life in the womb.

The treatment of these questions here might be challenged for its focus on human life alone. This criticism has been directed at most world religions regarding their approach to issues which the book of life now opens to us. This critique implies that one can hardly expect more from religions who base their positions on Sacred Scriptures that also tend to be anthropocentric. How valid is that critique?

It becomes increasingly impossible to dislodge bioethical questions from their context in the larger scheme of things, where ecological concerns have a voice, and where faith merits one too. Consequently, I suggest reading this issue of Ecumenism as a companion piece to the June 1999 issue entitled "Creation Myths and Contemporary Ecology". In the latter we are exposed to various ways of characterizing the human stance in relation to the earth we inhabit and all it contains: descriptives like responsibility/leadership with care, compassion, doing no harm, recognizing Nature as a guru (teacher) are avenues to conversion "from a hierarchy of being to a circle of the community of life."

In bringing a faith focus to bear on these issues, we also affirm that access to the book of life requires commitment to the community of life.