When news of a little sheep named Dolly hit the headlines earlier this year, the world reacted with surprise and horror. Suddenly, scientists were standing on an ethical slippery slope. Now, ten months after the successful arrival of Dolly in the laboratories of Dr. Ian Wilmut and Dr. Keith Campbell at Scotland's Roslin Institute, the tone of the debate has quietly and swiftly changed.
Some researchers now think it's only a matter of time before human cloning actually happens.
Dolly led the way, and scientists in Oregon have since reported they've cloned rhesus monkeys from early embryo cells. But if it's true for chimpanzees, it'll be true for humans. The ethics of cloning, particularly human cloning, were the focus of debate on Friday at the Chicago Kent Law School, where medical ethicists, lawyers, scientists and sociologists from across the globe joined to discuss the future of procreative technology. You can't overlook the psychosocial, religious and legal issues. This is one time when science can't function in a vacuum.