The Church in favour of medical research, with a prerequisite that the respect for human life

Writes the Victory Nicholas, Theologian
With regard to the issue of therapeutic cloning, the Orthodox Church has not yet come up what will be the attitude towards her…
Keep a negative attitude towards the research which is based on embryos. This position is based in the faith of the Church on the union of the soul with the body, which we analyzed in the first chapter of the study. It is, therefore, clear that for the Church the fetus is a psychosomatic entity, whether they are born or are unborn. Therefore, any experimental use of embryos is to be ordered strictly by the Orthodox Church, and if these efforts are trying to serve a good purpose. However, it is impossible for the Church to hinder and to stop investigations of embryos are carried out in medical laboratories.
The research, aimed at the use of cloning for therapeutic reasons, it shall cease to be associated with the experimentation on the embryos. However, the Church can’t take a position until they reach fruition the efforts made for the creation of transplants derived from embryonic stem cells. During the Γρινιεζάκη, and even then it will be difficult to take a position the Church against the challenges that will arise. For this you need to treat each case separately. For example, the Church must ensure the rights of the fetus, but in case it is deemed necessary, the choice between the life of the mother or of the child, then I would choose the preservation of the life of the mother. In the same way, well, I’ll deal with the issues that will arise from the application of cloning for transplants.
With regard to the issue of transplants, the Γρινιεζάκης considers it as “a crowning achievement, he elevated the challenge of surgery with spectacular results for the extension of human life”. However, the transplants are a challenge from the side of morality. Among the negative effects is “the proclamation of the hotheads infants as dead, the interruption of the life of the donor or the hastening of death for as long as possible becomes faster download of cuttings”. As a result, there are two axes of reflection: (a) the possibility of exploitation of the αυτεξουσίου of the donor or otherwise, the alleged consensus, and (b) the arbitrary determination of the moment of death or otherwise, the term brain death. Bioethics focuses attention “on how much consensus is alleged and how death is the cerebral”. From the side of the Church, has not yet taken an official position, but has criteria and conditions which can help the faithful to form its position around this issue.
During the Γρινιεζάκη, there are three angles which must be as a criterion of Orthodoxy, so as to delimit a εκκλησιολογική and theological position for the transplants. As a first angle, highlighting the desire for prolongation of life. The Church is not against the use of medicine, which has as a purpose to improve the life of the man. For the Church, however, and to extend the period of a man’s life, will eventually end. Jesus with his miracles, not merely prolong the biological life of patients, but offered them forgiveness and eternity, immortality.
On the contrary, the effort made today by the medical science, focuses only on the integrity and health of the body, creating a new form of anthropology, mechanistic anthropology, which seems to be in contradiction with what is professed by the christian anthropology. It is obvious that more attention is given to the preservation of life and physical existence of man from that in the mental status. The Church is against this treatment of the man, since its purpose is the sanctification of man and his salvation as a single psychosomatic entity. Therefore, it is right for a christian to seek help for extending the life of the medicine, but both he and the doctors, must act with awareness that ensuring the health and the life is done primarily with the help of the physician of souls and bodies, and that the use of science should be designed to ensure not only a biological extension of life, but to use this fact as an opportunity for spiritual advancement and acquisition of immortality.
Source