The two largest groups of Orthodox Jews in the US expressed their support for therapeutic cloning last week. In a joint statement, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which represents about 1000 synagogues, and the Rabbinical Council of America, which has a membership of over 1000 Rabbis, said that therapeutic cloning should be used in medical research, while reproductive cloning should be banned. Other Christian groups support a total ban on cloning.
The director of public policy of the Union, Nathan Diament, said that both groups want to show the public that there is 'a religiously informed, moral basis' for allowing therapeutic cloning, that is 'at least as strong as the religiously informed, moral basis for opposing it'.
The use of cloned embryos in medical research has been widely debated in the US over the past year. A variety of cloning bills are currently before the US Senate, including one that would ban cloning for all purposes - said to be backed by the Bush administration - and others that would prohibit reproductive cloning only. A vote is expected within weeks.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.