Q&A: Should we welcome the coming wave of anti-obesity drugs, and what’s at stake in the argument over the 14-day limit on embryo research?

Matters of Life and Death

Our final Q&A episode of the year tackles two medical ethics questions in the news recently. The first is Wegovy, the ground-breaking anti-obesity drug which has been a controversial sensation in the United States. It is now available (in very limited supply) on the NHS here in the UK, but only for those with quite serious obesity with BMIs of 35 or higher. Should Christians hail this a brilliant medical advance tackling a serious public health issue, or a worrying example of big pharma trying to medicate away our self-control? Next, we discuss a new push by some scientists to soften the ground ahead of a campaign to extend the current 14-day limit on human embryo research. Why do researchers want to keep embryos alive in petri dishes for longer, and will it actually benefit any of us in the end really? Some Wegovy links: • A Guardian news story abiout the introduction of the drug on the NHS https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/04/nhs-in-england-to-start-prescribing-weight-loss-jab-wegovy-despite-low-supply • The NHS’s own website on how Wegovy will be prescribed https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/treatment/ • And, in a sign of how much public interest there is, the Department for Health has a page explaining more about how to access Wegovy https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/accessing-wegovy-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know/ • The BBC News story about the campaign to extend the 14-day limit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67204553 • Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 • If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com • For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com