A flood of moral issues: Monkey-cloning technology opens the box (topic: stem-cells/cloning)

Human cloning is an issue that's now gone well beyond the realm of science fiction. The successful cloning of embryos from an adult monkey, reported this week in the journal Nature, represents a technical breakthrough that scientists say could bring human cloning much closer to reality. Precisely because of that, the advance raises anew some difficult ethical issues.

Stem cells extracted from dozens of embryos cloned from a 10-year-old male macaque by a team of U.S. scientists were successfully developed into mature heart and nerve cells in the laboratory. Research shows that what works for monkeys could work just as well for humans, since the genetic make-up of the two primate species are remarkably close. So that raises the possibility of developing transplant tissues from cloned human embryos, to treat such diseases as diabetes and Parkinson's.

In science, if something can be done, it will be done - regardless of moral or legal considerations. At some point, human embryos will be cloned to harvest stem cells that can be grown into healthy tissue and transplanted. Although cloning to create a human being is illegal in all developed nations, as it should be, the issue of cloning to extract embryonic stem cells remains murky. If human embryos are cloned for research purposes or to treat diseases, where do you draw the line?

Now's the time to sift through the ethical sands of this new frontier and resolve the profound questions they raise - before the techniques become reality in the laboratory.
November 15, 2007

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This is a “hot button” issue for many people. Where do you stand on the idea of cloaning human embryos to extract stem-cells? What if those stem-cells could save the life of you or someone you love from diseases?

Do you think that it is morally right to clone a monkey?

What about a human being?

REMEMBER TO BE RESPECTFUL. THIS ISSUE CAN BE VERY TOUCHY ON MORAL AND RELIGIOUS GROUNDS. BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER STUDENTS’ IDEAS.
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