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Harvard Scientists to Clone Human Embryos
An anonymous reader writes "Harvard University scientists claim they will soon start trying to clone human embryos to create stem cells. Even with the history of controversy and fraud researchers hope they can one day use the newly created stem cells to aid in battle against many diseases. From the article: 'The privately funded work is aimed at devising treatments for such ailments as diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, sickle-cell anemia and leukemia. Harvard is only the second American university to announce its venture into the challenging, politically charged research field.'"
Sorry to inform you of this, but homosexual intercourse with your clone is unlikely to result in reproduction.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
No. And I'd be the first to suggest gutting people like you for fresh organs for those more worthy of having them.
Bot Assisted Blogging
Harvard seems to have totally forsaken its once-christian heritage. Maybe someone should remind them that, originally, this noble instition's main purpose was to train clergymen ? I wonder what those attending or who attentend Harvard Divinity School think about their alma mater decision to clone human embryos ? Unfortunately, it is likely that even they have no qualms about it, considering that HDS has long been a hotbed of liberal theology (so liberal that atheology might be better suited to it).
I never saw the ethical issue about cloning as it is in reality. A person is defined by his memories and his moral character.
Take away either one and he is a different entity. Take away both completely and permanently, and he is not human. At best he is "vegetable" that must be cared for.
Embryos are not human. Neither are sperms or eggs.
People that want every embryo to develop into a whole person and are totally against abortion should also be against all human misery and should act accordingly. Few do this. Some even hate others that provide the service of abortion, even though the abortion doctors are just trying to relieve the misery of their patients.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
Wow since you put it that way, I don't feel bad that all those innocent people died because it could have been worse.
Can I bum a sig?
In that case tighten up rules on abortions. Timit them only to situations such as rape, or where a continued pregnancy would harm the mother or child.
Or better yet, only allow them if the local pastors agree (or a bishop decrees) that Jeebus would be ok with them.
Have you all missed the fact that this is not a case of "scientists" (all bow to the title) just using embryos left over at fertility clinics; these scientists from Harvard (all bow to the school) are CLONING these embryos in order to have a limitless supply. This is functionally no different from couples being paid to produce as many embryos as they can. In the analogy given, this would be like bombing Hiroshima every few years, each time saying afterward, "Well, you know, it's a shame that this happened, but we can at least use this for some good and not let these people die in vain."
... 'you are creating life precisely to destroy it. You are making young humans simply to strip-mine them for their desired cells and parts.'"
From the article: "By cloning human embryos to extract stem cells
The mark of any truly civilized society is parents sacrificing their lives for their children, not sacrificing their children for the sake of the parents' health and welfare.