Position Statement on Human Cloning

The topic of human cloning is no longer reserved for science fiction entertainment. Thanks to the birth of Dolly the sheep, the possibility of human cloning has moved from fantasy to reality.

There is almost universal agreement that a cloned human embryo should not be implanted into a human or artificial womb for gestation and live birth, also called “cloning-to-produce-children.” No such agreement, however, exists when it comes to cloning human embryos for stem cell research, also called “cloning-for-biomedical-research.”

The question of “cloning-for-biomedical-research” arises as scientists realize the limitations of stem cells derived from embryos created by in vitro fertilization. If these human embryonic stem cells are successfully developed for therapies (a proposal that remains theoretical), any possible remedies derived from these cells pose immune system rejection problems because they would be foreign to the patient.

In hopes of alleviating this and other problems, some in the research community and biotechnology industry propose using a method of human cloning (successfully used for mammalian cloning) to clone human embryos for stem cell research. “Somatic cell nuclear transfer” (SCNT) is the form of cloning used to create Dolly. It has also been successfully used by South Korean scientists to create human embryos for experimentation.

Both cloning for embryonic stem cell research and cloning for children (SCNT or another method) reproduce life, resulting in the creation of a newly formed organism (animal or human). The cloned human embryo created by SCNT for embryonic stem cell research is identical to the cloned human embryo created for implantation into a uterus for a live birth. The same cloning method creates both embryos; the only question is what you intend to do with it: destroy it for stem cell research or implant it for a live birth.

Focus on the Family opposes human cloning for the purpose of producing children, biomedical research (including embryonic stem cell research) or any other purpose. Therefore, we support a comprehensive ban of all human cloning. Human cloning is morally unacceptable for any reason. Human life (cloned or otherwise) is not a commodity to be used in research or for any other purpose.