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Other Bioethical Issues

Cloning
Cloning is a process by which a precise genetic
copy of a molecule, cell, plant, animal or human
being is created.
There are two types of cloning:
Reproductive cloning: is the creation of a
clone for the purpose of allowing it to
progress to the birth of a living child.
Therapeutic cloning: creates a clone and
then destroys it at an early stage in order to
harvest embryonic stem cells from it or to
use it to produce medicines or for research.
The Catholic Church and Cloning
The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to any form of human cloning.
The reasoning behind this view links to stem cell research the creation of embryos for the purpose
of experimentation and their destruction are immoral acts.
It also links to the arguments put forward in the IVF debate children have a right to be born of a
father and mother and techniques that separate the reproductive act from the sexual act are morally
unacceptable.
Cloning is an assault upon the dignity of a human person. A clone is not wanted for his or her own
sake, but because he or she is useful for experimentation, as a supply of cells or tissues, or as a
copy of another person.
Cloning transforms human procreation into a means of production. Children are a gift to be
unconditionally welcomed, not a product to be engineered and exploited.
Cloning denies children (and society) the benefit of parental and family relationships.
Church Documents
As with all medical interventions on patients, one must uphold as licit [lawful] procedures carried out on
the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate
risks for it but are directed towards its healing, the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual
survival. - Donum vitae I, 3
Medical research must refrain from operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not
causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother, and on condition that the parents
have given their free and in formed consent to the procedure. It follows that all research, even when
limited to the simple observation of the embryo, would become illicit were it to involve risk to the
embryo's physical integrity or life by reason of the methods used or the effects induced. -Donum vitae I,4
These techniques, insofar as they involve the manipulation and destruction of human embryos, are not
morally acceptable, even when their proposed goal is good in itself. - Pope John Paul II, Address to the
18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society (2000)
Creating human embryos with the intention of destroying them, even if undertaken with the goal of
possibly helping sick patients in the future, seems very clearly incompatible with respect for the dignity of
the human being. - Archbishop Celestino Migliore to the United Nations on the International Convention
Against the Cloning of Human Beings (October 21, 2004)
Human cloning is intrinsically illicit in that it seeks to give rise to a new human being without a
connection to the act of reciprocal self-giving between the spouses and, more radically, without any link
to sexuality. This leads to manipulation and abuses gravely injurious to human dignity. - Dignitatis
Personae n.28
To create embryos with the intention of destroying them, even with the intention of helping the sick, is
completely incompatible with human dignity, because it makes the existence of a human being at the
embryonic stage nothing more than a means to be used and destroyed. It is gravely immoral to sacrifice
a human life for therapeutic ends. - Dignitatis Personae n.30

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself... in life and death we are the Lords - (Rom
14:7-9).
For the Psalmist, the majesty of God is connected to the dignity of the human person. Gods greatness
is revealed in the work of creation, especially with the creation of that being made in the divine image
(Ps 8). While the human person is a creature, each person is a creature who shares in the work of the
Creator. God has entrusted his creation to the stewardship of the human family.
The Anglican Church and Cloning
The Anglican Church approaches all ethical questions with the dignity of the human person in mind. Views
differ on the issue of when human life begins and the value of cloning in order to treat illness. A committee
for the Anglican Synod of Canberra and Goulburn condemns human cloning as does Melbourne Anglican
Archbishop Philip Freier. Many Anglican leaders have made statements opposing human cloning and any
changes to laws which would permit cloning.
In 2007, the New South Wales Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church, a body that is made up of
representatives of all seven Anglican NSW Dioceses, passed the following resolution:
While recognising the need for research to find cures or prevent the suffering caused by disease, [the
Synod] believes the creation of a human life, either by fertilisation or by any other means of creation for the
purposes of destroying that life in research fails to recognise the value and purpose God assigns to human
life, even in its earliest stages.
Other Christian Churches and Cloning
Orthodox Christian churches, such as the Greek Orthodox Church, see no situation in which cloning human
beings would be acceptable. They see human reproductive cloning as an attempt to create human beings
in mans image rather than Gods.
Reverend Demetrios Demopulos, parish priest of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in
Massachusetts(USA) and a holder of a PhD in genetics, writes, As an Orthodox Christian, I speak out in
opposition to any attempt to clone a human being because humans are supposed to be created by acts of
love between two people, not through the manipulation of cells in acts that are ultimately about self-love.
Among Protestants there is a greater degree of disagreement. Clergy and congregants in conservative
evangelical denominations tend to be closely aligned with the Catholic Church on most social issues, and
their views on cloning are no different. Mainstream denominations, such as Presbyterians, generally
disapprove of all forms of cloning. In more liberal Protestant denominations, however, there is less
uniformity of thought.
Cloning is unethical and immoral and shows a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life, says
conservative Presbyterian minister Dr. D. James Kennedy.

In-vitro Fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman's
womb, in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive
technology have failed.
The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's
ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to
the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.
Certain ethical issues have been raised since the development of IVF. These concerns include:
Bypassing the natural method of conception
The creation of life in the laboratory
Fertilisation of more embryos than will be needed
Discarding of excess embryos
Unnatural environment for embryos
Creation and freezing of embryos
Exposure of embryos to unnatural substances
Destruction of embryos in research
Potential to create embryos for medical purposes
Artificial Insemination whats the difference?
Artificial Insemination is the placing sperm into either the cervix or uterus to achieve pregnancy.
Heterologous insemination involves the use of a sperm sample from a donor to achieve
fertilisation. Homologous insemination involves the use of a sperm sample from the
partner/husband to achieve fertilisation.

The Catholic Church and IVF


The Roman Catholic Church is opposed to most kinds of in-vitro fertilisation. This links to a number of the
reasons given for its opposition to embryonic stem cell research - the use of excess embryos and their
destruction are opposed due to the rights embryos receive as the earliest stage of life.
Church Documents
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
o 2375 Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged.
o 2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other
than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum) are gravely immoral These techniques infringe
upon the childs right to be born of a father and mother.
o 2377 Techniques involving only the married couple are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain
morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings
the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons given themselves to one another.
This research must be at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights and his true and
integral good according to the design and will of God. - Donum vitae intro, 2
Human embryos obtained in vitro are human beings and subjects with rights: their dignity and right to life
must be respected from the first moment of their existence. It is immoral to produce human embryos
destined to be exploited as disposable "biological material". In the usual practice of in vitro fertilization,
not all of the embryos are transferred to the woman's body; some are destroyed. Just as the Church
condemns induced abortion, so she also forbids acts against the life of these human beings. - Donum
vitae I, 5
The connection between in vitro fertilisation and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too
often. - Donum vitae II
Fertilisation achieved outside the bodies of the couple remains by this very fact deprived of the
meanings and the values which are expressed in the language of the body and in the union of human
persons. - Donum vitae II, 4

The Anglican Church and IVF


The perspective of the Anglican Church differs depending on the diocese. The following is a summary of
the speech delivered by the previous Anglican Primate, Peter Carnley, in 2002:
He expresses concern over the loss of fertilized ova in the IVF process.
He puts forward the notion that perhaps conception does not occur due to a nature or God-given
reason. He asks In theological terms are we unwittingly thwarting the good purpose of God?
He raises the question of whether we have the right to enter into such a field.
He supports the notion that we are co-creators with God through IVF and stem cell research
He views the notion of when human life begins to be a physiological one, not a theological one. If life
does not begin at fertilisation (which he argues is the case), there are less ethical concerns when
considering the loss of fertilized ova in the IVF process
In 2000, Carnley also released a statement condemning the use of IVF for same sex couples. He affirms
the right of the child to have a mother and a father.
Other Christian Churches and IVF
There is variation in the Christian position on IVF. Some Christian churches uphold the principal that the
conception of life by any means is justified as long as it is in the context of a married relationship.
The Bible tells of Gods work in assisting infertile couples to conceive (eg Abraham). Some fundamentalist
Christians interpret IVF as intervening on Gods behalf and therefore approve of the use of IVF in Gods
creation.

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