Murdo Macdonald: Church can contribute to wider society on science and ethics

MAY 1970: Having assured us that "All you need is love", The Beatles were in the process of an acrimonious break-up. England were still holders of the World Cup and a general election would soon replace a Labour government with a Conservative one. The abortive Apollo 13 mission had been brought safely back to Earth, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, had just come into effect.

The Church of Scotland had almost 1.2 million members served by nearly 2,000 ministers.

All in all, the world was a very different place in 1970 to what it is now. Things which we now take almost for granted – mobile phones, the internet, "test tube babies" (far less the kind of "three-way" IVF announced by researchers at Newcastle this week) – either didn't exist or were in very early stages of development.

The Society, Religion and Technology (SRT) Project was initiated by the Church of Scotland on 1 May 1970, to help the Church engage constructively with the scientific community in Scotland and beyond. For almost 40 years, the SRT Project has been involved in informed debate with many interested parties: government, regulators, industry, scientists, the church, the general public.

Many might argue that the Church should not interfere with issues outwith its remit. Yet the Church in Scotland comprises many people with professional expertise relevant to all kinds of areas – including areas which may be considered controversial.

There may be some reason to welcome this week's news of the research being undertaken at Newcastle University into alleviating mitochondrial diseases, but the Church of Scotland would caution that any research be undertaken with care for some of the ethical issues involved.

While having great sympathy with those who face difficult reproductive choices, we would urge caution in this area. There is currently a ban on the implantation and subsequent birth of human embryos which have been experimentally manipulated, and the law in the UK regarding experimentation on human embryos is already one of the most permissive in the world.

Previous experience with attempting to produce live births with experimentally manipulated embryos in other animals has shown that many attempts are required and many defective offspring produced before there is any success. While that may not be too much of a problem in lab or farm animals, that is not the case with children.

In addition, the techniques used are those deployed in nuclear transfer cloning. The possibility that any such techniques might be misappropriated by unscrupulous practitioners in the future is a very real one. It must also be remembered that this technique is in the very early stages of development.

The Church of Scotland has been closely involved in debate over ethical issues such as of human fertilisation and embryology over many years – both through the former Board of Social Responsibility and through the continuing Society, Religion and Technology (SRT) Project, now part of the Church and Society Council. In this and in other areas, the Church values meaningful dialogue with scientific experts, politicians and members of the general public.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the SRT project we are celebrating with a conference in Edinburgh on 1 May with some of the biggest names in their fields attending including Professor John Wyatt and Dr David Pullinger.

I hope we can look ahead to another 40 years of constructive discussion between the Church and the scientific community.

• Dr Murdo Macdonald is policy officer of the Church of Scotland's Science, Religion and Technology Project.