Harvard Sets out to Clone Human Beings for Research

LifeSiteNews
Jun. 07, 2006

Researchers at Harvard University announced today that they have begun efforts to clone human embryos, Bloomberg reported.

The goal of the research is to produce a line of stem cells genetically matched to a living person by first creating a cloned embryo using the person’s genetic material, and then killing the embryo to extract the cellular material. If researchers succeed in cloning embryos, they will allow the tiny human beings to grow for a few days before destroying them in order to extract their cells.

Religious leaders worldwide have condemned the artificial creation and use of human embryos for research, fertility treatments or cloning experiments as a fundamental moral evil.

"There are no lives that are not worth living; there is no suffering, no matter how grave, that can justify killing a life; there are no reasons, no matter how noble, that make plausible the creation of human beings, destined to be used and destroyed," said Pope John Paul II in 2004. "No type of research can ignore the intangibility of every human being: to violate this barrier means to open up the doors to a new form of barbarity."

Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers justified the research, saying it has tremendous potential to treat multiple diseases.

Douglas A. Melton is the co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He also defended the destruction of human embryos for science, saying the potential health benefits of the research would outweigh any ethical or moral considerations.

“The relevant question is ‘when does personhood begin?’ That's a valid theological or philosophical question, but from the scientific perspective, this work holds enormous potential to save lives, cure diseases, and improve the health of millions of people.”

In fact, although researchers claim the technology would allow for patient-specific cells to be developed and used to treat a variety of diseases without the risk of rejection, such results have already been achieved with the use of adult stem cells. Adult stem cell technology has already been successful in treating certain diseases or serious health problems, in one example by creating a new bladder from adult cells taken from the patient, and the technology shows great further promise.

Eight human research committees approved the Harvard proposal, according to Bloomberg’s report. They include: Harvard; its affiliate Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Partners Health Care; Boston IVF, a Harvard-affiliated fertility clinic; and Columbia University in New York.












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