The Reality of Cloning

Jerry L. Hall, then a researcher at the George Washington University Medical Center, presented the results of his in-vitro fertilization experiment at the 1993 meeting of the American Fertility Society in Montreal. Dr. Hall gave an interesting speech and the comments on his speech consisted of "nice job" and other positive remarks. On his return to George Washington University, Dr. Hall expected the same feedback, and he was shocked when the October 26, 1993 cover of the New York Times announced, "Scientist clones human embryos, and creates an ethical challenge."

Ethicists pictured images of baby farming and of clones cannibalized for "spare parts." Protesters chanted on the streets to immediately ban human-embryo cloning. The cover of Newsweek had images of babies in beakers, and the debate concerning test tube babies resurfaced. L'Osservatore Romano from Vatican city stated these "procedures could lead humanity down a tunnel of madness." And many other groups and individuals expressed their horror of cloning humans. Professor Hans Bernhard Wuermeling, a medical ethicist at the University o...

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...y the price for Michael Jordan if this was a possibility? Be at rest, no Hitler race will take over the world in the near future. But Jerry Hall may help many couples have families because the goal of his experiment was to help people.

Works Cited

Elmer-Dewitt, Philip. Where Do We Draw the Line? Time. November 8, 1997: 64-70.

Herbert, Wray. The World After Cloning. U.S. News and World Report. March 10, 1997: 59-64.

Scientist clones human embryos, and creates an ethical challenge. New York Times. October 26, 1993: A1.