Can theology have a role in "public" bioethical discourse?

In the US religious groups have been active in voicing their bioethical concerns in the public discourse. The Roman Catholic Church and religiously motivated anti-abortion activists have been quite visible in the public discussion of issues ranging from abortion infertility therapies withdrawal of artificial nutrition and direct euthanasia. While some might object to such particularistic groups having a voice in our pluralistic society their legitimacy comes not from their religious origins but from their moral convictions. The bioethical literature is full of opinions written from particular religious points of views but rarely are these opinions grounded in appeals to particular religious beliefs. Rather they are grounded in particular moral convictions that may have originated from religious beliefs. Nonreligious moral convictions have their origins outside of religion but in the literature it is often impossible to tell them apart. Directly religious appeals are rarely used in the literature since their scope would be limited only to those who shared a common religious belief. Instead the opinions are grounded in substantive moral principles. It must be understood that theological contributions to bioethics overlap and coincide with philosophical ones more than they conflict. Based on a commitment of openness and dialogue bioethics provides a forum for people with many different inspirations for their moral convictions to discuss the relevant issues. Theology must play a role in bioethics if only to clarify the issues for the religious community itself. And since the inspiration and motivation for peoples moral convictions can be either religious or not theology need not be excluded from the public dialogue.