The technique of cloning has recently opened up two new possibilities: reproductive cloning, whereby animals and ultimately humans could be created, and "therapeutic" cloning, which makes it possible to develop lines of stem cells that can become differentiated to produce the cells that constitute the organism's various tissues.
Although animal cloning became a reality with the birth of the sheep Dolly, the success rate is still low. To date, the cloning of human beings is merely hypothetical. The therapeutic prospects that stem cells hold out are considerable, but the technique, which uses large numbers of human embryos, is controversial: can a human embryo be considered simply as raw material, to the extent that one can envisage creating a embryo without any intention of creating a child? Does therapeutic cloning pave the way to the cloning of human beings? Should we allow ourselves to be guided by the possibilities thrown up by technology or should we first define the world in which we want to live?
In this publication, scientists, philosophers, lawyers and journalists explain the ethical issues linked to the various cloning techniques and put forward their differing views on the matter.
A glossary, information on some basic scientific concepts, illustrations and website references make the publication easy to read and understand.
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