Cloning: revisiting an old debate

Kennedy Inst Ethics J. 1994 Sep;4(3):227-34. doi: 10.1353/ken.0.0189.

Abstract

The debate about cloning that took place 25 years ago, although directed toward a different sort of cloning, elucidates fundamental issues currently at stake in reproductive technologies and research. Paul Ramsey and Joseph Fletcher were participants in this early debate. The differences between Ramsey and Fletcher about the meaning and sufficiency of freedom, the understanding and weighing of good and evil, the connection between embodiment and personhood, the relationship of humans with nature, and the meaning of parenthood suggest both a broader agenda for the debate about cloning and a cautious move forward in the development of embryo-splitting.

MeSH terms

  • Christianity
  • Cloning, Organism*
  • Embryo Research
  • Embryo, Mammalian
  • Ethicists
  • Ethics
  • Family Relations
  • Freedom
  • Humans
  • Individuality
  • Methods
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Personhood
  • Protestantism
  • Religion
  • Reproduction
  • Reproductive Techniques, Assisted
  • Research
  • Sex Preselection
  • Theology

Personal name as subject

  • Joseph Fletcher
  • Paul Ramsey