A POSSIBLE COMPROMISE ON CLONING :

Divided On Cloning (Dr. Charles Murtaugh 04/19/2002, Tech Central Station)

...I vehemently oppose reproductive cloning, but I support research on cloned embryos. Like many Americans, I'm unconvinced by the strict pro-life argument that an unimplanted ball of cells is a person. At the same time, I agree with the president's stance on reproductive cloning, and I would like to see the Senate prohibit the implantation of a cloned embryo into a woman's womb, without criminalizing the production of that embryo in the first place.

At first blush, this sounds like a potentially workable bright line legal standard for those of us who are concerned about the potential evils of cloning. I'd like to first hear more about how far along science is towards the ability to grow fetuses outside the human womb. But, assuming they're still a ways off, or that the legislation could be crafted to include implanting human embryos in animal and artificial wombs, I think I'd be inclined to support a law that allowed the creation of cloned embryos for research purposes but criminalized--for both doctor and patient--their implantation. Posted by Orrin Judd at April 24, 2002 8:37 AM