The United Nations, of all places, might be an ethical step ahead of us on human cloning.* The United Nations, of all places, might be an ethical step ahead of us on human cloning Although genes are recognized as influencing behavior and cognition, "genetically identical" does not mean altogether identical; identical twins, despite being natural human clones with near identical DNA, are separate people, with separate experiences and not altogether . In mid-February, a U.N. panel declared its support for a ban on all forms of human cloning. At around the same time, the president of the Massachusetts state senate introduced legislation, backed by eager Harvard researchers, that would allow the cloning of human embryos for research. Current law requires local district attorneys to sign off on embryo research. The Republican governor, Mitt Romney  This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change as the election approaches. , is willing to let the law be changed so as to allow research on "surplus" embryos from fertility clinics Fertility clinics are staffed medical clinics that assist couples, and sometimes individuals, who want to become parents but for medical reasons have been unable to achieve this goal via the natural course. . But he has pledged to fight any attempt to legalize le·gal·ize tr.v. le·gal·ized, le·gal·iz·ing, le·gal·iz·es To make legal or lawful; authorize or sanction by law. le cloning. His interest in compromise has not been met by a comparable spirit from the biotech bi·o·tech n. Informal Biotechnology. biotech Noun short for biotechnology Noun 1. enthusiasts. The story we were told in 2001--that research would proceed only on embryos that were "doomed anyway"--has once again been proven false. If Romney and likeminded legislators fail to hold the line at cloning, we can only guess at what new ethical horrors will follow. |
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