Medical Research: Is there a "too far"?

[Cath_aholic]

I was having a conversation with one of my friends today about scientific advances in the medical world and it got me thinking. We were talking about how scientists could find out everything about how the heart, or other organs, work and then proceed to try and make their own. My friend suggested that if scientists could make organs that actually functioned, they may be able to make them better (such as not deteriorating from many years of use). We also talked about what exactly sleep does for us and toyed with the idea of scientists finding a way to let us stay up as long as we wanted without getting tired or needing sleep.

My question is this: How far is too far with all of this? I mean…can’t this stuff go so far that it’s like re-designing the human body? Could we really make better organs than God can? I doubt it, but should we even try to do things like this?

I don’t know, maybe these things are impossible anyway (I’m not much of a biology buff) but some of the suggestions my friend was making about how scientists could make things “better” just bothered me. Is it wrong to think we could re-make ourselves in a better way, or are my immorality senses just out of whack?

 

[Believe_85]

There is definitely a “too far” and the when is too far can be complicated. The Church always seeks to preserve life and the dignity of humanity, so those are issues to keep in mind when considering ethics. Have you read anything about Kant’s ideas on humanity, not using humans as a means only, and other ideas like the principle of double effect? The priniciple of double effect is used to determine a lot in medical ethics, especially from the Catholic perspective on ectopic pregnancies that can kill the mother…After studying ethics in college, I realized there are a lot of Kant’s ideas on human dignity that are shared by the Catholic faith, so if you want to look into them I would, just use your best judgment because in attempting to be consistent he does have some ideas that don’t mesh with our faith. I’m not sure if that’s what you were looking for, but that’s what I thought of.

 

[StCsDavid]

I suppose “too far” would be when the outcome of the research took one away from God’s natural law…not to be confused with the laws of nature. I like CK Chesterton’s assertion that nature is not our mother but rather our sister since we have the same father. So the question every scientist should ask but most don’t is, “How does this glorify God?” If it doesn’t then most likely it feeds into the folly of man and his pride.

 

[jman507]

I am sure that man could create better organs than God. I am thinking though that if we fool ourselves into thinking that makes us better people we will be in trouble.

 

[SeekerJen]

I am sure that man could create better organs than God. I am thinking though that if we fool ourselves into thinking that makes us better people we will be in trouble.

I wouldn’t say that we could create better organs than God, as we would still be using the same design, but we could create organs that could be used to replace, say, failing hearts or kidneys that would not have the same risks of rejection as do currently transplanted organs from allogeneic donors. This would be IMO a completely ethical and legitimate use of such technology, as it would be better for the organ recipient, and it would not require a deceased donor or a donor who is willing to make a great, potentially life-altering sacrifice.

As for things like interfering with sleep, perhaps that would be immoral due to the likely reduction in quality of life. It appears that we need sleep for proper neuronal, immunological, and metabolic function. Plus, sleep feels good. The only reason I can see for wanting to abolish the need for sleep is to have a society of humans that are essentially reduced to worker bees. Not good.

 

[bugz2007]

I wouldn’t say we can make better organs than God can. I might go so far as to say that we can make better organs than God did, but I also think that God made our organs to deteriorate naturally as they do for a reason. He does want us to be with Him eventually, yeah?

 

[jman507]

I wouldn’t say that we could create better organs than God, as we would still be using the same design, but we could create organs that could be used to replace, say, failing hearts or kidneys that would not have the same risks of rejection as do currently transplanted organs from allogeneic donors. This would be IMO a completely ethical and legitimate use of such technology, as it would be better for the organ recipient, and it would not require a deceased donor or a donor who is willing to make a great, potentially life-altering sacrifice.

As for things like interfering with sleep, perhaps that would be immoral due to the likely reduction in quality of life. It appears that we need sleep for proper neuronal, immunological, and metabolic function. Plus, sleep feels good. The only reason I can see for wanting to abolish the need for sleep is to have a society of humans that are essentially reduced to worker bees. Not good.

I wouldn’t say that those organs would be created anytime in the foreseeable future. Given enough time with our intelligence, proper materials, a way to repair the organ, and a sophisticated enough computer, it could be possible create a better organ. Concerning the fabrication of organs at first you may just mimic the function, but eventually one could get to the point where knowing pathways, mechanisms, and all of its functions, one could figure out ways for it to function better.

In the end though I don’t care to argue the feasibility of the point; it is mostly a trivial matter. What matters is what one does with his or her life. I’m sure a baseball team could be very proud of their new uniforms that function better. Most people would still care for their win/lose record, and not care that their uniforms can keep the player cooler. I’m sure God would find our ability to control our blood pressure better not very important when compared to if we our acting in a sinful or virtuous way.