The International Herald Tribune reports on a reported case of human embryo cloning. To watch an MSNBC video report of this story click here. Excerpts from IHT:
Scientists in California say they have produced embryos that are clones of two men...
…
The process "involves creating human lives in the laboratory solely to destroy them for alleged benefit to others," said Richard Doerflinger, spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Citing the earlier work in Britain, he also said that as a scientific advancement, the new work was "very limited."
Other objections to cloning include concerns about health risks and exploitation if large numbers of women are asked to provide eggs.
Those objections are one reason that an alternative route to stem cells made headlines last November. Scientists reported a relatively simple way to turn skin cells directly into stem cells.
In other bioethics news, the Times Online reports that the House of Lords in the UK has approved research that creates human-animal hybrid embryos (human-animal cloning). LifeNews reports here.
For more information on these critical bioethics issues check the AdvanceUSA stem cell page, human cloning page, or adult stem cell page.
UPDATE: The plot thickens. The Daily Mail reports that the
cloning scientists actually cloned themselves.