Cloning.

As I'm sure you've already heard, it was announced today that Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, MA has successfully cloned a human embryo. Although their intended purpose in cloning these embryos, to develop an alternate source of stem cells for research, is a valid one, the fact that a duplicate has been made of a person leaves me feeling a bit queasy. What sort of a future does this portend? I empathize with both sides of the ethical debate on this; the advances and cures possible through stem cell research could repair so many damaged lives; however, the question that nags at me is how does the duplication of a human being affect their value as an individual? I fully believe that the researchers at ACT have no intention of developing the cloned embryos; but what about other not-so-ethical scientists? What's to stop them?

Sorry, all this clone talk tends to make me nervous. The entire concept borders on the unnatural for me, a viewpoint that results in no small part from my religious upbringing, I am sure.

Anyhoo, the viability of the cloned embryos is questionable to some. And the majority of the cloned embryos were created through parthenogenesis, a process that creates embryos through duplication of the set of maternal chromosomes. This means that "Producing embryos by parthenogenesis is ethically attractive because they never develop into fetuses, meaning they are not "potential people"." That does make me feel a bit better.

You can stay abreast of developments in cloning by going here.