The Australian Parliament recently announced new laws forbidding most human
cloning even for experimental purposes far short of creating a human cloned
infant. Today's Melbourne Age newspaper ran a commentary by a Catholic
ethicist, using the customary inflammatory language in lieu of an argument.
I can't find it linked from their page, but here's a letter I sent the
editor this morning:
===========================
Mr Tonti-Filippini's concern about the legal status of some human cloning
procedures is expressed in very misleading terms, which is surely no
accident. He says nuclear transfer technology is used in human cells
`largely for the purpose of subsequently dismembering the three to four-day
old embryo'. This hideous image suggests tearing a baby limb from limb. In
fact, a zygote has no limbs, let alone a nervous system or a brain. It is a
group of eight or so identical cells. That's why it is possible, for
example, to sample one or two of those cells and examine its chromosomes
for defects prior to deciding whether or not to implant a fertilized ovum
(pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD) during IVF. Using such
gruesome, loaded language as `dismemberment' reveals the biassed fallacy in
this line of superstitious argument.
Damien Broderick
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