Did you know that the shape of your smile " one of the defining characteristics that makes you you " was already determined at your one cell stage?
Medical ethicist, Dr Megan Best, uses this fact to illustrate the truth that a cloned human embryo is still human life regardless of whether it is created for "therapeutic' or reproductive purposes.
Dr Best, a CASE faculty member, will be delivering a lecture on human cloning and Christian bioethics this afternoon at 5pm at New College, University of NSW.
She will cover the science and the ethics of stem cells and cloning and give a background to the ethical and political debates in 2002 until the present.
“With the subject of human cloning before parliament this week, the time is right to be putting together our thinking on bioethical issues," says Dr Greg Clarke, director of CASE.
"Meg approaches the issues as both a doctor and a Christian, with years of experience in the politics of bioethics as well.
Dr Best is also a key player in Doctors Against Cloning, an informal grouping of doctors who want to tell the public " and politicians " the truth about embryo stem cell research.
"As a group of doctors we want to express our concern about the direction some scientists are pushing our country in medical research," says Dr Best.
"We consider there are solid ethical lines that must not be crossed and the Lockhart recommendations cross these lines. We must not clone and we must not kill."
Docters Against Cloning also says that advances in the use of non-embryonic sources of stem cells over embryonic sources renders cloning and embryo destruction unnecessary.
"We believe that medical research in Australia has a bright future without cloning," Dr Best says.
"We must not trivialise the value of human life at any stage and we must not sacrifice one human life for another that some might consider of greater "value'. To adopt this principle would have horrific consequences."
These doctors also point out that the Australian Government supported the United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning and want all Australian legislation to be consistent with that Declaration.
"Respect for human life must include all that are vulnerable, impaired or dependent."
For more on bioethics from Megan Best, visit her ‘faculty page’ at the CASE website.
