Cloning and Stem Cell Research Ethical Viewpoints Soraj Hongladarom Center for Ethics of Science and Technology Chulalongkorn University

Viewpoints  Reproductive cloning  Therapeutic cloning  Thailand’s position

Reproductive cloning  Is it ethical to reproduce another human being asexually?  What is the purpose of sexual reproduction?  Parthenogenesis  Cloning  What does it mean to be a human being?

Therapeutic cloning  This is where the most controversies lie.  Is it ethical to ‘use’ what is potentially another human being as tissues to help treat another one?  Key point: what exactly is a potential human being?

Three types of countries

Key groups

Problems  Is there a way to demarcate what is no more than a collection of tissues and a human embryo?  If cloned embryos at early stage could be used, then what about those at a later stage? Perhaps even a fetus? A baby?  What about remaining embryos from fertility labs?  Big problem: Who decides who lives and who dies?

Julian Savulescu  There is no essential difference between a group of cells on my skin and a group of cells that will be cultured into stem cells.  In theory, any type of cells can be grown into a new, complete organism.

What is unique about humans?  On the one hand, human beings are nothing more than a collection of cells.  But on the other, human beings comprise societies, with laws and histories and traditions.  The use of stem cells point to this ambivalence.

What should we do?  Complete ban is out of the question.  But complete freedom is not acceptable either.  Alternatives should be found that do not destroy embryos.  Adult stem cells  More studies and discussions.