Does Cloning create a Human Embryo?
It would seem that no one is denying that cloning, regardless of the method, results in the formation of an embryo. Once again, the Human Genome Project says, “Therapeutic cloning, also called embryo cloning, is the production of human embryos for use in research. The goal of this process is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease.”5 A National Right to Life Committee Fact Sheet has this quote: “As documented in the American Medical News, February 23, 1998, University of Colorado human embryologist Jonathan Van Blerkom expressed disbelief that some deny that human cloning produces an embryo, commenting: If its not an embryo, what is it?”6 Ethical Concerns with Cloning If we admitas scientists and doctors dothat cloning creates a human embryo, we must then ask the question, is it ethical to create human beings for the sole purpose of destroying them? The December 27, 2000 issue of the Journal of
