Other Bioethical IssuesCloning Cloning is a process by which a precise genetic copy of a molecule, cell, plant, animal or human being is created. There are two types of cloning: Reproductive cloning: is the creation of a clone for the purpose of allowing it to progress to the birth of a living child. Therapeutic cloning: creates a clone and then destroys it at an early stage in order to harvest embryonic stem cells from it or to use it to produce medicines or for research. The Catholic Church and Cloning The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to any form of human cloning. The reasoning behind this view links to stem cell research – the creation of embryos for the purpose of experimentation and their destruction are immoral acts. It also links to the arguments put forward in the IVF debate – children have a right to be born of a father and mother and techniques that separate the reproductive act from the sexual act are morally unacceptable. Cloning is an assault upon the dignity of a human person. A clone is not wanted for his or her own sake, but because he or she is „useful‟ for experimentation, as a supply of cells or tissues, or as a copy of another person. Cloning transforms human procreation into a means of production. Children are a gift to be unconditionally welcomed, not a product to be engineered and exploited. Cloning denies children (and society) the benefit of parental and family relationships. Church Documents As with all medical interventions on patients, one must uphold as licit [lawful] procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it but are directed towards its healing, the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival. - Donum vitae I, 3 Medical research must refrain from operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother, and on condition that the parents have given their free and in formed consent to the procedure. It follows that all research, even when limited to the simple observation of the embryo, would become illicit were it to involve risk to the embryo's physical integrity or life by reason of the methods used or the effects induced. -Donum vitae I,4 These techniques, insofar as they involve the manipulation and destruction of human embryos, are not morally acceptable, even when their proposed goal is good in itself. - Pope John Paul II, Address to the 18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society (2000) Creating human embryos with the intention of destroying them, even if undertaken with the goal of possibly helping sick patients in the future, seems very clearly incompatible with respect for the dignity of the human being. - Archbishop Celestino Migliore to the United Nations on the International Convention Against the Cloning of Human Beings (October 21, 2004) Human cloning is intrinsically illicit in that … it seeks to give rise to a new human being without a connection to the act of reciprocal self-giving between the spouses and, more radically, without any link to sexuality. This leads to manipulation and abuses gravely injurious to human dignity. - Dignitatis Personae n.28 To create embryos with the intention of destroying them, even with the intention of helping the sick, is completely incompatible with human dignity, because it makes the existence of a human being at the embryonic stage nothing more than a means to be used and destroyed. It is gravely immoral to sacrifice a human life for therapeutic ends. - Dignitatis Personae n.30 “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself... in life and death we are the Lord‟s” - (Rom 14:7-9). For the Psalmist, the majesty of God is connected to the dignity of the human person. God‟s greatness is revealed in the work of creation, especially with the creation of that being made in the divine image (Ps 8). While the human person is a creature, each person is a creature who shares in the work of the Creator. God has entrusted his creation to the stewardship of the human family. The Anglican Church and Cloning The Anglican Church approaches all ethical questions with the dignity of the human person in mind. Views differ on the issue of when human life begins and the value of cloning in order to treat illness. A committee for the Anglican Synod of Canberra and Goulburn condemns human cloning as does Melbourne Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier. Many Anglican leaders have made statements opposing human cloning and any changes to laws which would permit cloning. In 2007, the New South Wales Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church, a body that is made up of representatives of all seven Anglican NSW Dioceses, passed the following resolution: “While recognising the need for research to find cures or prevent the suffering caused by disease, [the Synod] believes the creation of a human life, either by fertilisation or by any other means of creation for the purposes of destroying that life in research fails to recognise the value and purpose God assigns to human life, even in its earliest stages”. Other Christian Churches and Cloning Orthodox Christian churches, such as the Greek Orthodox Church, see no situation in which cloning human beings would be acceptable. They see human reproductive cloning as an attempt to create human beings in man‟s image rather than God‟s. Reverend Demetrios Demopulos, parish priest of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Massachusetts(USA) and a holder of a PhD in genetics, writes, “As an Orthodox Christian, I speak out in opposition to any attempt to clone a human being because humans are supposed to be created by acts of love between two people, not through the manipulation of cells in acts that are ultimately about self-love.” Among Protestants there is a greater degree of disagreement. Clergy and congregants in conservative evangelical denominations tend to be closely aligned with the Catholic Church on most social issues, and their views on cloning are no different. Mainstream denominations, such as Presbyterians, generally disapprove of all forms of cloning. In more liberal Protestant denominations, however, there is less uniformity of thought. “Cloning is unethical and immoral and shows a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life,” says conservative Presbyterian minister Dr. D. James Kennedy. In-vitro Fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman's womb, in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy. Certain ethical issues have been raised since the development of IVF. These concerns include: Bypassing the natural method of conception The creation of life in the laboratory Fertilisation of more embryos than will be needed Discarding of excess embryos Unnatural environment for embryos Creation and freezing of embryos Exposure of embryos to unnatural substances Destruction of embryos in research Potential to create embryos for medical purposes Artificial Insemination – what’s the difference? Artificial Insemination is the placing sperm into either the cervix or uterus to achieve pregnancy. Heterologous insemination involves the use of a sperm sample from a donor to achieve fertilisation. Homologous insemination involves the use of a sperm sample from the partner/husband to achieve fertilisation. The Catholic Church and IVF The Roman Catholic Church is opposed to most kinds of in-vitro fertilisation. This links to a number of the reasons given for its opposition to embryonic stem cell research - the use of excess embryos and their destruction are opposed due to the rights embryos receive as the earliest stage of life. Church Documents Catechism of the Catholic Church: o 2375 Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged. o 2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum) are gravely immoral … These techniques … infringe upon the child‟s right to be born of a father and mother. o 2377 Techniques involving only the married couple are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons given themselves to one another. This research must be at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God. - Donum vitae intro, 2 Human embryos obtained in vitro are human beings and subjects with rights: their dignity and right to life must be respected from the first moment of their existence. It is immoral to produce human embryos destined to be exploited as disposable "biological material". In the usual practice of in vitro fertilization, not all of the embryos are transferred to the woman's body; some are destroyed. Just as the Church condemns induced abortion, so she also forbids acts against the life of these human beings. - Donum vitae I, 5 The connection between in vitro fertilisation and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too often. - Donum vitae II Fertilisation achieved outside the bodies of the couple remains by this very fact deprived of the meanings and the values which are expressed in the language of the body and in the union of human persons. - Donum vitae II, 4 The Anglican Church and IVF The perspective of the Anglican Church differs depending on the diocese. The following is a summary of the speech delivered by the previous Anglican Primate, Peter Carnley, in 2002: He expresses concern over the loss of fertilized ova in the IVF process. He puts forward the notion that perhaps conception does not occur due to a nature or God-given reason. He asks “In theological terms are we unwittingly thwarting the good purpose of God?” He raises the question of whether we have the right to enter into such a field. He supports the notion that we are co-creators with God through IVF and stem cell research He views the notion of when human life begins to be a physiological one, not a theological one. If life does not begin at fertilisation (which he argues is the case), there are less ethical concerns when considering the loss of fertilized ova in the IVF process In 2000, Carnley also released a statement condemning the use of IVF for same sex couples. He affirms the right of the child to have a mother and a father. Other Christian Churches and IVF There is variation in the Christian position on IVF. Some Christian churches uphold the principal that the conception of life by any means is justified as long as it is in the context of a married relationship. The Bible tells of God‟s work in assisting infertile couples to conceive (eg Abraham). Some fundamentalist Christians interpret IVF as intervening on God‟s behalf and therefore approve of the use of IVF in God‟s creation.