Bioprinting: Theological, Ethical and Pastoral Reflections

Craig Preston - Doctor of Ministry. Supervisor - Dr. Brian Edgar

Emerging biotechnologies have given rise to ethical and theological issues previously considered inconceivable in science, medicine and theology, as they provide us with the capabilities to manipulate, and fundamentally alter, the human body and psyche. Humanity’s conception of the physical body has changed significantly over the centuries, vacillating back and forth between varieties of dualistic and monistic thought. There has also been a move from body-neglect at one extreme to a body-obsession at the other. These changing perceptions have, in no small way, been shaped by the growing interaction between theology and scientific developments especially evident in the rise of medical science as it found expression in anatomy and surgery, and developed in its relationship with biology, chemistry and physics.

Latter centuries have seen this interaction of theology and the sciences, in relation to the body, greatly increase with the advent of molecular and evolutionary biology, genetics and the plethora of emerging biotechnologies. The human body has thus become the defining soil in which the future of the science-faith relationship is set to grow.

The effects of these biotechnological advances will also have significant pastoral implications for the Church of the 21st century, implications the Church is hardly equipped to cope with.  It is argued that the future of such advances can only be responsibly negotiated as the scientific and pastoral-theological communities engage in humble dialogue, thoughtful reflection and collaborative action. Through the introduction of, and engagement with one of the emerging biotechnologies, bioprinting, the most significant ethical and theological issues are identified. They demonstrate concretely, the complex and unavoidable interplay between science, theology and ethics each and every time a new (bio) technology impinges upon the human body therapeutically and cosmetically. The on-going debate regarding human personhood is thoroughly explored with a focus on philosophical, historical and biblical-theological perspectives, especially the Christian view of the imago dei. Christ is championed as the ‘paradigm of personhood’, the very image of God, embodied, and relating in love.

To be human is to be a person, and an embodied person at that. By extension, only humans, of the created order are persons by virtue of their creation in the image of God (and Christ). The sanctity of every human life, regardless of functional capacities or stage of development is thus upheld. In the attempt to responsibly evaluate emerging technologies, contemporary ethical theory, medical ethics and recent biomedical ethics are considered, leading to the conclusion that they are inadequate to address the ever-increasing scope of the present bioethical challenge. It is argued instead that it is a specifically theologically founded ethic that brings the necessary depth of insight to ethical issues. Christian theology, it is posited, contains the ‘raw material’ for constituting an ethic robust enough to offer substantial guidance for the development of emerging technologies. Stanley Hauerwas’ ecclesio-centric ethic, Peter Whitehouse’s deep bioethics and Brian Edgar’s biotheology are introduced as theologically founded ethical systems that hold promise in this regard. Bioprinting as a technology is thus evaluated using these systems in an integrated way, concluding that its strength lies in its creative potential to solve the organ crisis through the production of DNA-compatible replacement organs, whilst its primary weakness lies in its ability to facilitate our growing desire for enhancement.

Finally, a scientific-theological model of bioethical engagement between the pastoral and scientific communities is proposed that outlines a process of initiative, engagement, dialogue, reflection and action. Engagement with the scientific community is key in this process, one in which the Church must take the initiative through an incarnational process of identification, localized presence and subversive influence, whilst exercising its prophetic voice to ensure that the future envisaged for the person falls properly within the revelation of God’s future for humanity.

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