I’ve been having fun with “Bill” over at GetReligion.org. Here’s my recent reply:
What Bill is proposing is that DNA be extracted from a person needing a transplant, say, for a liver. That DNA would be placed in an enucleated oocyte. Embryonic stem cells harvested from this clone (Bill objects to this terminology; let’s call him “Fred”) in the blastocyst stage would be used to generate an organ (like a liver) or tissue. Thus, deprived of life, Fred would be dead.
Bill notes that generating human organs this way “is not yet a medical reality.” In fact, as Bill surely knows, it’s more like untenable science fiction. If you want to get closer to reality, follow the money trail. The real scary (but profitable) stuff is in a) creating clones; b) designating them as non-human, non-persons; and then b) harvesting their complete organs.
My guess is that once we’ve raided the fridge at in vitro fertilization clinics, we’ll be dumpster diving for aborted fetuses.
You can follow the entire discussion, following M.Z. Hemingway’s excellent March 3 article, here.
