May
24, 2002
Students
Teach Each Other about Bioethics by "Cloning" National
Council
Each February, students
in How Organisms Develop, MHC's introductory biology class, have
the opportunity to fertilize sea urchin eggs in a petri dish,
learning about the complex biochemical dance that occurs between
egg and sperm. Helping students to understand the molecular processes
involved comes naturally to Associate Professor of Biological
Sciences Rachel Fink, who coteaches the popular course. Getting
students to think about the societal and ethical aspects of such
basic biological research presents more of a challenge. This spring
Fink tried something new, again using the interactions between
members of a species—this time, humans serving on President
George W. Bush's President's Council on Bioethics—to drive
home her points about bioethics.
In January, Bush announced
the creation of the council, which has been charged with studying
the human and moral ramifications of developments in biomedical
science such as embryo and stem cell research, assisted reproduction,
cloning, genetic screening, gene therapy, euthanasia, psychoactive
drugs, and brain implants. Fink followed the establishment of
the council with interest. Who were these eighteen scientists?
And how could she and her students learn more about their backgrounds,
beliefs, and perspectives on these complex issues? Fink decided
to have each of the twelve students in her 300-level seminar Cloning,
Stem Cells, and Bioethics learn as much as she could about one
of the eighteen council members, with the goal of having students
adopt their council member's identity and perspective during a
mock debate. Then she had a brainstorm: that discussion could
take place in front of the students taking How Organisms Develop.
The idea was to introduce ways of thinking "about the societal
implications of the science that they're doing," Fink says.
Members of the seminar
spent the first part of the semester learning the historical and
current state of research. Then each student set about finding
out more about the panel member she had been assigned. Each student
wrote directly to her counterpart, and four received responses;
all digested the online transcripts of the council's monthly meetings
and scoured the mainstream media for mentions of their counterpart's
name. "Once you started to look for them, they were in the
news in really interesting ways," Fink says.
"Our research
and discussions were marked by the immediacy of startling and
exciting news developments that guided our discussions on a weekly
basis," said Devaki Nambiar '02, who portrayed panelist Mary
Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor. Such events as legislation
in Great Britain allowing human theraputic cloning, the birth
of the first cloned cat, and President Bush's declaration of opposition
to any kind of cloning "brought a sense of urgency and depth
to our discussions that was extremely valuable to us, both as
engaged citizens and curious biologists."
The culmination of
their work, the mock debate, was held April 30 in Hooker Auditorium
in front of the 130 introductory biology students. Erica Sneider
'02 portrayed Dr. Leon Kass, chairman of the bioethics council,
and moderated the debate. At each seminar, each student introduced
herself as the panelist she had studied, and made a statement
about her perspective and the actual panelist's position on cloning
issues. At the end of the presentations, members of the audience
asked questions. "It was riveting. There must have been twenty
hands up when we had to end. I was really proud. They did a great
job answering all the questions, and stayed in character as they
did so. It was one of the all-time teaching highs that I've had,
and I've had a lot of teaching highs," said Fink, winner
of the Mount Holyoke College Faculty Prize for Teaching last year.
"It was extremely
interesting for me personally, to be put in the position where
I had to understand another person's opinions about cloning that
are different from mine," said Sneider, whose counterpart,
Kass, is an opponent of both theraputic and reproductive cloning.
"Through becoming Dr. Kass, a bioethicist with a medical
degree, and chairing the council, I have learned about the many
complex issues surrounding the topic of human cloning, because
there are so many minute details involved affecting so many people,
each of whom has different beliefs, values, and religious backgrounds,"
she said.
"I thought it
was very interesting," said Clarissa Sabella '05, a student
in the introductory class. "I came in with a certain viewpoint
and started questioning it, but came back to it with more supported
details, and more reasons why." Nambiar said, "I am
deeply satisfied with our work this semester," expressing
envy that she will not be on campus next spring for an interdepartmental
lecture series on human reproduction in the twenty-first century
sponsored by the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership.
"I am certain that the series will produce constructive dialogue
and debate on the topic of human cloning—an issue of great
importance and consequence to the students at Mount Holyoke and
around the world."
Fink says "I
think it is wonderful that the upperclass panel members brought
the current national debate to the introductory students. As the
country watches to see what the U.S. Senate will decide next month
about research on human embryonic stem cells, I am quite pleased
that Mount Holyoke students will be among the best-informed in
the audience."
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