Cloning: A Body Double or Double Trouble?

By Dennis Di Mauro

One moral questionthat has recently received a great deal of publicity is the issue of cloning. Is cloning ethical? What’s wrong with using cloning to conceive a child, or to find cures for diseases?

First of all, what is cloning?

Cloning is the process where a woman’s egg, or ovum, has its nucleus removed and has the nucleus of a cell of another person, usually the nucleus of a skin cell, implanted into the empty egg. This process "conceives" a new living embryo (baby) that starts to grow rapidly after the skin cell nucleus is inserted into the egg. Cloning starts in the laboratory, and the embryo can then be placed into the uterus of a woman where it will grow into an infant, who then is born in the normal way. The newly born child will be a genetic duplicate (or twin) of the donor of the skin cell.

What are the types of cloning?

Cloning is usually separated into two types: reproductive and therapeutic.

Reproductive cloning is essentially the process explained above, which results in a newborn child. The donor of the skin cell reproduces, and the resultant boy (if the donor is a man) or girl (if the donor is a woman) will be the donor’s genetic duplicate, or twin. A French religious cult called the Raelians has made it its goal to be the first group to reproduce through cloning. They feel that they will be able to attain immortality through cloning.

Therapeutic cloning consists completely in the laboratory. A cloned embryo (baby) is formed in the laboratory, and then scientists perform scientific experiments on the embryo. The tiny baby is killed during this experimentation process. Scientists hope that these experiments will result in the development of cures for any number of diseases such as paralysis or cancer. Christopher Reeve, a screen actor best known for his role as Superman, was tragically paralyzed from the neck down in an equestrian accident. Mr. Reeve has been an outspoken advocate of therapeutic cloning in hopes that this experimentation will lead to a cure for his debilitating condition.

So what is the problem with cloning? Why have bans on the process been proposed?

Reproductive cloning has numerous ethical issues that have driven legislators to propose bills to stop reproductive cloning.

1) Many babies conceived experimentally during cloning will be deformed during the process. Many people feel that these children will be aborted if they are not perfect. Those not aborted will suffer from numerous physical problems after birth.

2) Children born after reproductive cloning will only have one biological parent, the donor of the skin cell. Christians feel that it is unfair to conceive children who will then have only one parent, and will not benefit from an upbringing with both a mother and a father. Legal questions have also been raised about who will legally "own" the child born through reproductive cloning. Is the egg donor the legal parent? Is the skin cell donor the legal parent? Is the scientist who performed cloning the legal parent? Will the cloned child be used for ethical purposes? Will children be cloned to provide organ transplants for others?

Nearly everyone opposes reproductive cloning for these reasons. However, many others, including many Christians, also oppose therapeutic cloning as well.

Some of the objections to therapeutic cloning include:

1) An embryo is a child from the moment of conception, whether that conception is the result of natural reproduction or cloning. Psalm 139 tells us that God knits us together in our mother’s womb. So from the moment of conception, we are created by God for a specific purpose. It is therefore not our place to kill this growing baby or to conduct scientific experiments upon the child.

2) Some people feel that a ban on reproductive cloning alone would be useless without banning therapeutic cloning as well. This is because embryos conceived by the therapeutic cloning process could easily be implanted (in violation of a reproductive cloning ban) in a woman willing to carry the baby. Once implanted, the law could do little to stop the child from being born. Therefore, many legislators feel that reproductive cloning can only be prevented by banning all forms of cloning.

3) Egg cells required in the therapeutic cloning process must be surgically removed from women to clone children. This surgery is difficult, painful, and can endanger a woman’s future fertility. Many people are concerned that poor women will be exploited and coerced to earn money by undergoing this surgery.

4) Babies cloned for therapeutic purposes are killed and are therefore denied the sacrament of baptism, and the saving grace contained therein.

So as Christians we need to know that because of all these ethical problems, any form of cloning is clearly immoral. God’s intention is that all children be conceived and born from a man and a woman joined in Christian marriage. This marriage covenant provides all children the right to grow safely in their mother’s womb with the benefit and support of loving parents, as well as the opportunity for baptism.

So if all cloning is immoral how can I make my voice heard as a Christian citizen to ban all types of cloning?

Senator Brownback of Kansas has introduced a bill that will ban both reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Similar bills have been successfully passed in Germany and other countries, and these bills will prevent the killing of pre-born children in laboratories. Your efforts to end all cloning can start by contacting your Congressman or Senator and letting them know that you support the Brownback bill. You can go to www.nrlc.org and put in your zip code to receive contact information for your Congressmen and Senators.

Dennis Di Mauro is the President of Northern Virginia Lutherans for Life, he is the Finance Chairman of Lutherans for Life of the Mid-Atlantic States, and he is the LC - MS Representative to the National Pro-Life Religious Council, an organization devoted to promoting the fact that Christianity is a pro-life religion. Dennis has been active in pro-life ministries for the past eight years. He also manages the Lutheran activities at the Washington DC March for Life every January 22nd. He is married and is the proud father of three daughters, and lives in Herndon, Virginia.