Cloning Crisis: Myths of the South Korean Cloning Experiment
Not sure what you think of "customized stem cell lines"? Get the facts on the latest cloning experiment.
What if you could cure your son's diabetes by designing a treatment that would mean he would never have to test his blood sugar again? Or – what if you had lost your only daughter and wish you could hold her again? If solutions to these scenarios sound like something of the distant future, think again. The future is here and the answer to both questions could be cloning. While it may sound like an exciting breakthrough in science, cloning also raises some morally and ethically disturbing questions. Currently, South Korean scientists lead the field in cloning experimentation. However, they couch the ethical concerns regarding cloning with misleading statements about the truth behind this new science.
In 2004, South Korean scientists announced they had successfully cloned a human being. In May of this year, the same group made a similar announcement.
The following are a few myths circulating about the latest cloning experiments that you need to know to be informed and take an important stand for "the least of these":
Myth #1: Human beings are not being cloned.
Fact: Unfortunately, South Korean scientists have already cloned human beings – purely for the sake of destructive scientific research.
Leading Korean scientist Woo Suk Hwang says he believes cloning human beings is "unsafe and unethical" and claims his new "creations" are not human and have no potential to ever become human.
His statements directly contradict the facts of his research techniques. In their experiments, Hwang and his colleagues used a technique called "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT) – also known as cloning. When the nucleus from an unfertilized egg is replaced with genetic material from a donor cell and the cell begins to divide, a new, genetically complete human is formed. The South Korean scientists then kill these new humans to harvest their stem cells.
SCNT is the same process that was used to clone Dolly the sheep. Scientists never questioned whether Dolly was a real sheep. In fact, they proclaimed the event as a scientific breakthrough because she was a sheep. The same thing has happened here: Hwang and his team have successfully cloned and destroyed human beings.
Myth #2: The South Korean experiment is a step forward in stem cell research.
Fact: Some scientists and members of the media use confusing statements for the human cloning experiment like "customized stem cell lines" and "cloned stem cell lines to treat disease." Regardless of the misleading phrases the scientists use about the process of cloning, SCNT always involves the creation of a new human being and human embryonic stem cell research always involves its destruction.
Myth #3: Cloning sick and injured patients could result in developing patient-specific cures.
Fact: This is one of the most common arguments for the continuation of cloning: curing disease and helping people. Why wouldn't we want to do everything possible to find cures? Cloning, though the science is complex, isn't all it's portrayed to be. We know from experiments with animals that cloning causes high rates of death, deformity, and disability. Clones often experience genetic flaws and other defects known to cause cancer. Do we really want to subject people to such unreliable and deadly experimentation?
The claim that embryonic stem cells from cloned humans could be used to provide patient-specific cures ignores the fact that most clones are not truly identical to their donor. Clones (and the stem cell lines harvested after the clones are destroyed) possess small amounts of unique genetic material that would make any treatment between the patients and their clones impractical.
The issue is clear: the South Korean experiments have given us our first look at cloned human beings. Morally, the creation and destruction of young human life is indefensible. Therapeutically, cloning is impractical and harmful to human beings. Obviously, cloning is not the incredible breakthrough that some would like us to believe.
What is unclear is why we are continuing down this morally and scientifically unjustifiable path.
What can you do? Stay informed about what your Congressmen and Senators are doing regarding cloning legislation. Should these issues surface in the coming elections, let your voice be heard. In doing so, you can help keep our country from spiraling morally downhill, and save countless children yet to have a chance at life.
Dawn Vargo is a research assistant in the Public Policy Division of Focus on the Family.
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