Cloning: the human as created co-creator?

Certain events settle themselves in the collective memory of humankind where they keep functioning for decades as points of reference for future generations. The announcement of the successful cloning of Dolly was such an event. Every one of us will remember this thought-provoking occasion or will, at least, be confronted with the extended media coverage of this breakthrough in medical science. Immediately, world leaders reacted and the question was raised how long it would take before the shepherd was cloned. More important is the sequel to this medical breakthrough: the successful Dolly experiment led to the possibility of human embryonic and adult stem cell research. In 2000, the Pontifical Academy for Life took a position on this additional and innovative research. At the same time, understanding these technological innovations takes a lot of time as a result of the immense scientific complexity of these new technologies. In this article, we want to clarify the technological possibilities as well as the moral, theological and ethical issues involved. To some, it seems that humans usurped the Divine Creator's place and, by doing this, crossed a border. To others, this medical breakthrough is in line with previous reproductive technological innovations (the birth of Louisa Brown, the first test-tube baby was for some already one step too far but this has not compromised the proliferation of in vitro fertilization).