Is it okay to clone embryos to use in research?

Admin Posts : 50 Join date : 2008-03-07

Embryonic stem cell researchers have devised ways in which they can get embryos without using embryos made from sperm and egg, in order to quell the protests from certain groups.

Do you have any qualms about using these embryos for research?

Posts : 8 Join date : 2008-08-08

I think this would not be a bad idea, honestly. It would be preferable to using new ones each time, I should think. I imagine some people think it equals playing God and making life, although I don't have that particular issue.
I wonder if they will work just as well as naturally created cells?

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Inquiring minds....are inquiring.

Posts : 618 Join date : 2008-03-09

By natural do you mean just those cells derived from embryos made from egg and sperm?

Posts : 8 Join date : 2008-08-08

Yes, I meant those created naturally, via fertilization, vs. those cloned. I don't know that there would be any difference, but I'm not well-versed in cloning so I could be wrong.

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Although I'd be happy to clone myself and let him go to work today...

Posts : 173 Join date : 2008-07-20

Admin wrote:: Embryonic stem cell researchers have devised ways in which they can get embryos without using embryos made from sperm and egg, in order to quell the protests from certain groups.

Do you have any qualms about using these embryos for research?

Nope! The only problem that may evolve is the fact that currently, our clones tend to be less healthy than the originals (Dolly the sheep wasn't healthy). I personally think that unwanted embryos from IVF should be used - with parental permission or if the embryos have not been spoken for and are reaching expiration. A few clones can be made but once you start cloning the clone of a clone, bad things happen.

Right now, thousands of embryos are dying because no one wants them...

Posts : 618 Join date : 2008-03-09

Eiri, I'm glad you are not on the pro-life side of this issue!

Posts : 173 Join date : 2008-07-20

futureshock wrote:: Eiri, I'm glad you are not on the pro-life side of this issue!

Definitely not! In consider it to be just like organ donation. Embryos that have never been inside a woman and were created by science, and are going to slowly die in cold storage... they need to be made useful.

Posts : 213 Join date : 2008-03-09

EiriForLife wrote:

futureshock wrote:: Eiri, I'm glad you are not on the pro-life side of this issue!

Definitely not! In consider it to be just like organ donation. Embryos that have never been inside a woman and were created by science, and are going to slowly die in cold storage... they need to be made useful.

then what's the difference?

» Are Eggs and Sperm as Valuable as Embryos?
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