HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Camporesi, S Articles by Bortolotti, L PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Camporesi, S Articles by Bortolotti, L

Reproductive cloning in humans and therapeutic cloning in primates: is the ethical debate catching up with the recent scientific advances?

¹ European School of Molecular Medicine and University of Milan, Milan Italy
² Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

Correspondence to:
Miss S Camporesi, European School of Molecular Medicine and University of Milan, Foundations of life sciences and their ethical consequences, c/o IFOM-IEO campus, via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy; silvia.camporesi{at}ifom-ieo-campus.it

After years of failure, in November 2007 primate embryonic stem cells were derived by somatic cellular nuclear transfer, also known as therapeutic cloning. The first embryo transfer for human reproductive cloning purposes was also attempted in 2006, albeit with negative results. These two events force us to think carefully about the possibility of human cloning which is now much closer to becoming a reality. In this paper we tackle this issue from two sides, first summarising what scientists have achieved so far, then discussing some of the ethical arguments in favour and against human cloning which are debated in the context of policy making and public consultation. Therapeutic cloning as a means to improve and save lives has uncontroversial moral value. As to human reproductive cloning, we consider and assess some common objections and failing to see them as conclusive. We do recognise, though, that there will be problems at the level of policy and regulation that might either impair the implementation of human reproductive cloning or make its accessibility restricted in a way that could become difficult to justify on moral grounds. We suggest using the time still available before human reproductive cloning is attempted successfully to create policies and institutions that can offer clear directives on its legitimate applications on the basis of solid arguments, coherent moral principles, and extensive public consultation.