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CLONING RESEARCH, JEWISH TRADITION & PUBLIC POLICY;
A
JOINT STATEMENT by the UNION of ORTHODOX JEWISH
CONGREGATIONS of AMERICA
and the
RABBINICAL COUNCIL of
AMERICA
Society today
stands on the threshold of a new era in biomedical research.
The wisdom granted to humans by our Creator has led to our
greater understanding and knowledge of the building blocks of human
life itself. Scientists
revealed the existence and role of DNA and cellular science many
years ago. Currently,
scientists are not only able to describe the nature of cellular
life, but manipulate it as well.
We are now faced with the possibility of mastering the art of
this manipulation to the point of being able to clone in research
laboratories the cells that, in other circumstances, lead to fully
developed human beings.
A debate has
emerged in American society at large and among our elected leaders
as to whether public policy should permit, encourage, restrict or
ban the further conduct of this biomedical research.
The issue is one with complex moral dimensions.
On the one hand scientific research indicates that there is
great life-saving potential in the results that can come from
cloning research.*
On the other hand, we must be vigilant against any erosion of
the value that society accords to human life.
Our Torah
tradition places great value upon human life; we are taught in the
opening chapters of Genesis that each human was created in God’s
image. After creating
man and woman, God empowered them to enter a partnership with Him in
the stewardship of the world. The
Torah commands us to treat and cure the ill and to defeat disease
wherever possible; to do this is to be the Creator’s partner in
safeguarding the created. The
traditional Jewish perspective thus emphasizes that maximizing the
potential to save and heal human lives is an integral part of
valuing human life. Moreover,
our tradition states that an embryo in
vitro does not enjoy the full status of human-hood and its
attendant protections. Thus,
if cloning technology research advances our ability to heal humans
with greater success, it ought to be pursued since it does not
require or encourage the destruction of life in the process.
However,
cloning research must not be pursued indiscriminately.
We must be careful to distinguish between cloning for
therapeutic purposes – which ought to be pursued, and cloning for
reproductive purposes – which we oppose.
Thus, this research must be conducted under strict guidelines
and with strict limitations to ensure that the research is indeed
serving therapeutic purposes.
Consistent with
this policy, we advocate that a fully funded and empowered oversight
body comprised of scientists and ethicists be created to monitor
this research. Relevant
Executive-branch agencies and congressional committees should
conduct periodic reviews as well.
The oversight process should pay special attention to
ensuring that the embryos used in this research are not brought to a
point which constitutes human-hood.
We believe that
the policy stated herein articulates the perspective of the Torah
tradition and the community we represent and achieves the correct
balance between pursuing new methods for saving human lives and
maintaining the fundamental respect and sanctity of human life.
*
This joint statement specifically addresses our view on the subject
of cloning technology research.
We have previously set forth our views on the related subject
of stem cell research in a document which may be found at
http://www.ou.org/public/Publib/cloning.htm
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