16 July 2003 Should Cloning be Restricted? "Why not lift the ban on all research into cloning - including humans - and see what happens? Let's run the social experiment and analyze the data... In the borderlands between science and pseudoscience, the best method to determine which fuzzy category a claim belongs is to test it. Why not do that here?" The above statement by Michael Shermer, the director of the Skeptics Society, has summed up a crisis Doctors For Life International has been warning the public about for years. When human life is in question, should one rely on trial and error to experiment and gain knowledge? We cannot be indifferent to such issues, because medical and bio-ethics ultimately will affect us all - for better or worse. That is why world-renowned scientists will be addressing these timely questions at the National Conference on Medical Ethics, starting on the 30th of July. Should one rely on trial and error of unrestricted experimentation when people are in question? As groundbreaking research booms, we need ethical guidelines to steer legislation. Given the facts, one can make an informed stance. The science of cloning is still in its infancy and the subjects of such experimentation are prone to genetic mutations, premature ageing and multiple sickness. As science progresses, it is time we discover the boundaries, the dangers and benefits of the work that will affect future generations. Doctors For Life International represents 900 doctors from South Africa and across the globe. Contact Eugen Olsen at 031 764 0443. |
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