The Need

Modern biotechnology (the application of the principles of engineering and technology to the life sciences), with its scientific tunnel vision and its concern for improving human health and increasing life spans, now appears to be at the mercy of the "technological imperative." The principle of the technological imperative means that because a particular technology allows us to do something (i.e., it is technically possible), then we ought, must, or inevitably will do it.

Thus, for the first time in the history of the world, modern biotechnology and moral relativism have combined to produce babies in test tubes, human cloning, fetal farming to obtain whole organs or other complex tissues, egg farming in young women for embryo cloning, and even the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos. Because it can be done, it is being done.

Whether technology is "neutral" or "value-free," its use is not The Bioethics Initiative is an effort to highlight the inherent dignity of the human person and to assure that humans at all stages of development are respected and protected in law. Moreover, the Initiative is needed to challenge the technological imperative by advancing legislative, political, and legal initiatives to assure the moral use of biotechnology at the local, state, and national levels.