The psalmist this Sunday attests to a truth at the center of the Judeo-Christian tradition: God “made us, his we are.” The U.S. Supreme Court this week grappled with the question of whether something as intrinsic to nature as a human gene be patented. Justices seemed skeptical but also worried about what a decision to bar such patents might mean for private scientific inquiry and research.

The court is considering a challenge to a decision to award a patent to Myriad Genetics for isolating human genes that indicate a hereditary disposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Doctors and patients must use the diagnostic test that Myriad has developed and others are restricted from research in that area.

The patents are being challenged by organizations of physicians and researchers, geneticists, patients, and others who say that the snippets of DNA are “products of nature” and may not be patented, even though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued such patents for decades.

The justices’ concern is warranted, court observers say. Their decision could shape the future of medical and genetic research and have profound effects on pharmaceuticals and genetically modified crops.

Homily hint: As science blurs the boundaries between natural creations and laboratory creations, many ethical questions are raised. Though some would like to turn back the clock or stop the experimentation, history suggests that will not happen. The question is whether or not we will experiment with fully informed ethical consciences or not.

Source: Robert Barnes for the Washington Post