Embryo research may be banned

Embryo research may be banned accross Europe. According to a Labour MEP: “‘It is wrong for the European Parliament to be used to impose one ethical view on the whole of Europe. Europe can’t be run as if it were a single state with a religious consensus. There is no ethical consensus in Europe.’ “

This reminds me of a discussion I heard on the radio recently about stopping couples from choosing the sex of their childs baby. The discussion assumed that what was right and wrong equalled what public opinion believes is right and wrong.

Since we are now cast adrift from any guiding principles for ethics in western nations, this is a dangerous place to be. If what is right and wrong is purely a matter of personal preference, who is to say that paedophillia, consensual incest, canibalism or murder are wrong. What possible right do we have to impose a set of morals on anyone else if the only foundation for those morals is public opinion.

We need principles to live by, like ‘do to others what you would want them to do to you’ like ‘do not kill’ like ‘do not committ adultery’. Without them we are lost in a moral maze and have no way out.

What we need is to remember the judeochristian heritage of this nation and to return to its principles. Ironically enough, Muslims would be more supportive of some of these principles than many in our so-called ‘Christian’ establishment.