The series of policy positions of the US administration in the opening years of the “biotech century” in respect to cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the patenting of human embryos offers a case study in the development of public policy that, though it has been developed in the context of secular argument, reflects distinctive concerns of Christian theology. Through several events, the Bush administration has confronted a series of policy decisions affecting the ethical-legal framework for biotechnology. Though there has (...) been little explicitly Christian reflection within the bioethics community, Christians together with other thinkers have recognized that these questions could determine the scope and course of developments in biotechnology. (shrink)