Is OAR an Acceptable Cloning Technique for Pro-Lifers?
| Vivian W. Dudro | August 23, 2005 Print-friendly version I am not a scientist and I am not a theologian, but it sure is making me uneasy that some self-described pro-life theologians have endorsed animal testing of the cloning technique called Oocyte Assisted Reprogamming (OAR). The thirty-five scholars have based their approval of OAR on the assumption that it might be able to produce human embryonic-like stem cells without first creating and destroying human embryos. While respecting them for opposing the overt creation and destruction of human embryos, I question whether the technique in which they are placing their hope can deliver upon its promise. To summarize briefly: In a recent Wall Street Journal guest editorial and in a subsequent explanation published on the Ethics and Public Policy website, the OAR advocates, including some leading Catholic bioethicists and scientists, called for further exploration of OAR, which is a variation on the cloning procedure with a key differe
