South Korea's cloning of human eggs

They said it would happen, and it has. Researchers in South Korea have taken a donated human egg, squeezed the DNA out of its nucleus, replaced it with a cell from the ovaries of the egg's donor, and induced the egg to develop into an early-stage embryo that was, as a result, a genetic clone of its donor. They then destroyed the embryo in order to harvest its stem cells -- the building blocks of life, with the potential to become blood, nerves, bone or any other part of the body.

The hope is that some day the DNA of someone with, say, diabetes or Alzheimer's disease can be inserted into the nucleus of a donated egg, that the resulting stem cells can be used to repair that person's damaged body (new pancreatic tissue for a diabetic, for instance), and that the genetic match will reduce the chance of rejection. The world is a long way from that goal, but the South Korean success is crucial to it.

The potential relief of human suffering justifies the creation of early-stage embryos, as long as the procedures are regulated and as long as one unbreakable rule is followed. The embryo must not be kept alive beyond 14 days, before which the cells have no consciousness and, lacking even a rudimentary nervous system, feel no pain.

The law should not prohibit that research. Even as other therapeutic avenues are explored, including stem cells mined from adults, scientists should be free -- and eligible for state funding -- to pursue the very human promise of human therapeutic cloning. -- The Globe and Mail, Toronto