The terms “stem cell research” and “cloning” are often used together, and for good reason. Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the link between stem cell research and human cloning.
Q. Why do the terms cloning and stem cell research often go hand-in-hand?
A. The search for promising treatments and cures for disease is only one component of medical research; scientists are also driven to explore how human beings develop. As the investigation into early human development continues, embryonic stem cells have emerged as one of the most hopeful avenues of research.
In order to collect these stem cells for research, a human embryo must be destroyed. One method of gathering embryonic stem cells is to clone a human embryo and then extract the stem cells. When we hear about the “promise” of embryonic stem cell research it is essential to understand that one of the desired methods of harvesting these cells is to clone tiny human beings.
Q. Is human cloning necessary for all types of stem cell research?
A. No, it is only used for destructive embryonic stem cell research. Adult stem cell research and therapy can be conducted using adult stem cells from a variety of sources including adult tissue, umbilical cord blood, and the placenta. There is no need to create and destroy cloned human embryos if adult stem cells are used. For more information on adult stem cell treatments, see articles entitled Adult Stem Cells: It's Not Pie-In-The-Sky and A Superman for Life
Q. Why is human cloning important for embryonic stem cell research?
A. Much like the concern over organ transplant rejection, researchers working with embryonic stem cells have discovered that tissue rejection is a hurdle that must be overcome if embryonic stem cell therapy is to be successful. This hurdle could be eliminated if the embryonic stem cells were derived from the patient undergoing therapy. Unfortunately, the only way to glean embryonic stem cells from a patient is to create a clone of the patient and then extract the stem cells from the newly cloned human embryo. These tiny human lives are deliberately created and destroyed in this process simply for the use of their stem cells.
Q. Are there different cloning techniques that can be used to harvest embryonic stem cells?
A. At this point, there is one primary method of cloning that is being used: somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The nucleus of an egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a somatic cell (skin, blood, or a similar cell) from the person to be cloned. Instead of fertilization, a small electric pulse is applied to fuse the cells together and begin dividing. If successful, the result is a newly cloned individual who begins the same process of human development that we all experience.
Although SCNT is the most frequently used way to clone an individual, a new cloning technique has been proposed that might create genetically defective human entities with the sole purpose of extracting their stem cells. For more information on this method, called altered nuclear transfer (ANT), see article entitled, Altered Nuclear Transfer: An Ethical Cloning Alternative
Q. Do scientists need to use cloned human embryos to conduct embryonic stem cell research?
A. No. Initially, embryonic stem cell harvesting centered on destroying embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF). Most IVF clinics create additional embryos which are not implanted in order to freeze them for use in later pregnancy attempts. Sometimes parents who have their desired number of children “donate” these additional embryos for destructive embryo research.
More recently, scientists have turned to cloning human embryos for embryonic stem cell research. As researchers perfect human cloning techniques, we can expect to see more young humans cloned and destroyed for this type of scientific inquiry.
Instead of asking if cloning is necessary for embryonic stem cell research, we should ask if embryonic stem cell research is necessary for treating disease. The weight of scientific and moral evidence tips the scale firmly in favor of adult stem cells. As researchers struggle to find ways to make embryonic stem cells possible for testing in humans, adult stem cells are successfully treating people with debilitating injuries and diseases. For more information on adult stem cell treatments, see articles entitled Adult Stem Cells: It's Not Pie-In-The-Sky and A Superman for Life
Q. Isn’t all this discussion about cloning and embryonic stem cell research irrelevant since they use “therapeutic cloning” rather than “reproductive cloning” for gathering stem cells? Therapeutic cloning is morally permissible, right?
A. Wrong. All human cloning is reproductive because it duplicates the genetic material of the donor and creates a new human life. The terms “reproductive” and “therapeutic” address what you intend to do with the cloned embryo: it can be implanted into a woman’s uterus with the goal of a live birth (reproductive) or destroyed in a research laboratory for its stem cells (therapeutic).
Cloning is the method used to create the embryo; it has nothing to do with why the embryo was created. To say that one type of cloning is more ethically justified than another is to misrepresent what is actually taking place. For more information on “therapeutic” cloning, see article entitled, Frequently Asked Questions: Human Cloning
Q. Isn’t cloning just a way of creating a replica of a person’s cells, such as blood cells, to help treat a disease? How does that undermine the value of human life?
A. The cloning process being conducted by scientists and discussed by the media is whole-person cloning rather than DNA fragment cloning. This is not a replication of blood or skin cells; rather, it clones a whole person through SCNT (cloning). Cloning creates a new human life with virtually the same genetic material as the donor in order to destroy it for research purposes.
Q. How do you respond to those who argue that it is more ethical to use embryonic stem cell research to save lives than to save a tiny cluster of cells that may or may not be considered a human being?
A. It is never ethical to destroy these young humans for the purpose of research and the distant hope that they may someday be helpful in curing diseases. Science is already demonstrating that adult stem cells therapy is effective. Why not use this scientifically proven and ethically permissible technique to treat disease?
Remember the old maxim, the ends do not justify the means. To create and kill young human life for the sole purpose of research is morally unacceptable. While it may be tempting to say this is just a “ball of cells,” keep in mind that everyone begins life at this stage of development. All that is needed for any of us to grow (embryo, newborn, or otherwise) is time and nourishment. For more information on embryo adoption, see the Citizen magazine article entitled Uncommon Moms
Q. Why don’t I hear about cloning in the news very often?
A. Often, words such as “nuclear transfer” or “somatic cell nuclear transfer” are used because they are less well-known than the more controversial term “cloning.” In addition, the description used to explain the mechanics of embryonic stem cell research is often distorted to include somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning) as well. Blurring the lines by utilizing more technical terms makes it easier to use the guise of embryonic stem cell research to advocate human cloning.
Q. Does Proposition 71, the 3 billion dollar plus bond initiative passed in California’s 2004 election, legalize cloning?
A. Prop 71 was a thinly veiled, and successful attempt by scientists, actors, and some members of the media to create a constitutional right to embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. One of the most disturbing parts of Prop 71 is the fact that it allows for the cloning of human beings to be used for destructive embryonic stem cell research.
The authors of Prop 71 purposefully confused the issue by prohibiting “human reproductive cloning” which they define as the creation of a human being “for the purpose of implanting the resulting product in a uterus to initiate a pregnancy.” 1 Less well-known is that Prop 71 also creates the right to cloning for destructive embryonic stem cell research. Except, in this instance it is called by its scientific name: somatic cell nuclear transfer. 2
Dawn Vargo is an associate analyst for bioethics in the Public Policy Division of Focus on the Family.
Connecting the Dots: Stem Cells and Human Cloning
To read Proposition 71 in its entirety, click here.
1 Proposition 71, Article III Subset K
2 Proposition, Article XXXV Section 5
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