Human cloning: When people play God

The sensitive subject of human cloning is raising moral and theological concerns, says Nizar al Ali in this Inter Press Service special report.

CASABLANCA (IPS): Christians and Moslems may find much to divide them, but many of their theologians are in immediate agreement on the issues of human cloning and genetic engineering.

Meeting here recently to discuss the issue, Moslem and a few Christian theologians started from the established religious point of view: that the creation of human beings is a pure act of the divine will.

"The creation of humankind was not a fortuitous act nor a spontaneous evolution of nature. It is rather an act of the divine will," says Moroccan scholar Abbas el Jirari, member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, set up by King Hassan II to enhance research in scientific and cultural fields.

El Jirari argues that a cloned human would be classed as a distinct life form, liable to discrimination and even enslavement, but more fundamentally, would challenge the concept of humans as a unique creation.

"Genetic engineering should fully abide by the norms of human dignity, freedom and rights," says Tunisian scholar Habib Belkhoja, speaking at a recent meeting on 'Genetic engineering and Human Rights' held in Rabat by the Moroccan Academy.

Recognizing the contribution of scientific research to the health and development of humankind, the theologians warn that such research have to observe certain borders that should remain under the authority of 'divine will'.

They urge the creation of an international convention to set the rules and boundaries of this kind of scientific research. "We are indeed in need of an internationally agreed upon law to stop this adventure (cloning), to spare humanity the hazards of this innovation," Belkhoja said.

This month, nations around the world signed an agreement that said cloning people violated human dignity and a misuse of science. They agreed to enact laws making human cloning illegal, but the protocol has no provision for sanctions against states that violate it. The United States, Japan, Canada and the Vatican helped to draft the protocol, which must be enacted into individual states' laws before it can take effect.

French president Jacques Chirac has called for an international ban on human cloning, and U.S. president Bill Clinton has urged Congress to adopt a similar measure. Christian theologians also fear that genetic engineering a process that the Vatican denounced in June as "the tragic parody of the power of God" will, as one put it, "torpedo the balance set by Divine Providence".

Max Stackhouse, an ordained United Church of Christ minister who teaches Christian ethics at Princeton Theological Seminary, does not believe that cloning is particularly problematic. He likens it to atomic research.

"We cracked the atom, and now we've cracked the genetic code in a certain way. And just as with the atom, this can create great energy and promise, but also damage. I think that with the idea of human cloning we do have the spiritual danger of people playing God."

Nevertheless, he thinks cloning "could lead to better control of some genetic illnesses, and so it should be explored". But there are dangers, he warns. "If we can manipulate something for good, chances are we can also manipulate it for evil."

British theologian and legislator Lord Chalfont, who joined Belkhoja at the Rabat meeting, says scientific research should respect moral and ethical values. Science need not be eclipsed by religious and moral values, but the need is for a formula that ensures development without losing the ethical essence of life.

Scientific progress and ethics should be conciliated in such a way "to guarantee the primacy of humankind over science", Lord Chalfont said, urging governments, national ethics committees and specialized international bodies to join efforts to regulate research and avoid possible drifts into dangerous areas.

Jewish scholars also join the outcry against the risks posed by human cloning. Haim Zafrani, a leading figure among the Moroccan Jewish community, said that although senior Rabbinic legal thinkers have not yet given a decisive answer on the issue, the Jewish authorities remain vigilant.

Backing his arguments with verses from the Torah, Zafrani says there are clear principles that the physician and the searcher should observe. These include the respect of life and the duty to cure and safeguard human life.

Yet the religious rejection of human cloning does not mean a categoric opposition to beneficial genetic research, for instance studies into sterility and birth defects. "We should not drop out the positive aspects of genetic engineering, particularly for the treatment of cancer and diabetes," notes Dr Zaid Kilani, of Farah Hospital in Amman, Jordan.

And in a world increasingly preoccupied by the need to guarantee food security for its ever growing population, the theologians unanimously agreed that research into genetic engineering to boost agricultural production should be encouraged.

World universities and scientists should go ahead with their research on genetic engineering in agriculture and foster the awareness of the populations on the positive aspects of this innovation, Kilani said.

Sheikh Sayed Mohammed Tantawi of al Azhar University, Cairo, one of the most highly respected religious institutions in the Islamic world, has welcomed genetic engineering, used to increase agricultural output as a contribution to the welfare of humankind.

Tantawi has argued that any Moslem should be able to accept a scientific advance that helps human beings enjoy a more prosperous life. This, of course, was different -- fundamentally different -- from the matter of human cloning.

Focusing on the positive aspects of genetic engineering research may be the only means of answering the concerns raised by the cloning of 'Dolly' the sheep, Kilani noted.