Embryos, cells and God

553 Earlier this year, South Korean researchers were the first to successfully clone human embryos and create a pluripotent embryonic stem cell from one of the cloned blastocysts (Hwang WS et al (2004) Science 303: 1669–1674). In December 2002, the Raelian religious sect claimed to have cloned the first human baby, albeit without any supporting proof. These episodes—and several other studies and claims—have triggered enormous public interest in the possibility of cloning humans, a topic that goes to the heart of most people’s ideas and convictions about humanity and morality. Not surprisingly, organized religion, particularly the Christian Church, has taken a strong interest in the cloning debate. It has sent priests and bishops, pastors and preachers to the pulpit, issuing strong words of caution or outright condemnation of any research that creates, uses or destroys human embryos. This has had a strong influence on science policy: many Western countries in which Christianity is prevalent have banned human cloning and the creation of human embryonic stem-cell lines, or have at least issued strict regulations for such research.