Unlike the rest of the Catholic blogosphere, I never did offer my reflections on Benedict XVI’s papacy after he “retired” earlier this year. But, the latest “breakthrough” in human cloning got me thinking about Pope Benedict and how he often drew attention to what he called the “difficult problem of bioethics,” especially in the area of science and human biotechnology. … Read More
BioTalk, Episode 5: Human Cloning is Here
Human cloning is not coming; it is already here. It is time to stop pretending that this is a problem for our children and grandchildren. This is our issue to tackle. Now. In the latest episode of BioTalk, Rebecca and I discuss the realities of human cloning and what we can do to stop it.
UK to Possibly Be First to Offer “Three-Parent” IVF
After roughly a year of polling the British public about it (because naturally that’s the best way to determine all serious ethical questions involving complicated human biotechnology), last week the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, announced that the British government’s health department is drafting regulations in order to start offering “three-parent” IVF treatments in order to combat mitochondrial … Read More
7 Cloning Quick Takes
In case you missed the news this week: 1. Scientists Clone Human Embryos To Make Stem Cells 2. This is not the first time human embryos have been cloned, but it is the first time they have survived long enough to either be implanted in a uterus or destroyed for their stem cells (these scientists did the latter). 3. Let … Read More
Abortion is Not the Only Pro-Life Battle Before Us
Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins writes at HLI’s Truth and Charity Forum: I’m not saying to abandon the use of the term “pro-life” altogether, but we must realize that the term “pro-life” allows the person using it to give it their own definition. For me and others I work with, it means that we are dedicated to … Read More
BioTalk, Ep. 2: 3-Parent Embryos and the Brave New U.S.
A new episode of BioTalk, in which Rebecca Taylor and I talk about all things bioethics — especially issues related to human biotechnology — is finally here! In this episode, we talk about scientists experimenting with “three parent embryos” and the “Brave New” United States where there are no restrictions on this or other once unthinkable kinds of human experimentation … Read More
Gattaca, Cloud Atlas and the Human Future
I’ve talked here before about how science fiction is not so fictional anymore, even when it comes to human cloning. Lately, some other, smarter people have also been taking notice. First, over at the American Spectator, Daniel Allott takes a look at the movie Gattaca and how, 15 years later, the sci-fi thriller is fast becoming our reality: In Gattaca’s … Read More
I Cloned My Pet Part II and “The Clone Song”
In January, TLC ran what amounted to an hour-long infomercial for the dog cloning industry called “I Cloned My Pet”. Apparently, they did it again with “I Cloned My Pet 2” last week. I didn’t watch it, but John Woestendiek suffered through it and had a few words to say about it: I was going to stay silent and let … Read More
Cloning Humor
Cloning hasn’t been in the news for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not going on right now. Recall: we did not find out when the first embryos were cloned until after scientists wrote a report about their experimentation that had been going on for probably years. If nowhere else, we know it’s definitely going on in … Read More
Science Fiction is Not-So Fictional Anymore
Did you ever see the movie The 6th Day, with Arnold Schwarzenegger? It’s an action movie, in which he comes home one day to find a clone of himself living with his family, is then chased by a bunch of cloned assassins and finally traces the attacks to the creator of the clones, who is himself a clone. Well the … Read More