ETHICAL CLONING

In spite of the fact that the present day man needs no special incentive to maintain his pride hovering in orbital heights, modern science does not cease in supplying it with novelties that continually nurture his illusory presumption as the “lord of Creation”.

The so-called human cloning has become an inexhaustible source of this type of headline. Be it good or bad, the stratospheric human pride always goes even higher with the countless articles that board the subject, evidencing itself both in between, and also on the lines, invariably sprinkled with useful exclamation marks. And that is what happens, and many begin to believe that the human being is, in fact, the lord of Creation and, with a little more effort, already practically equal to the Creator. Practically, understand well, as it is always convenient to preserve a certain apparent humility…

“Human cloning is morally unacceptable!” both the Pope and the American president (who else) reverberate in unison indignation. “Nobody is going to obstruct human progress!” threatens on equal footing an almost monstrous Italian doctor, seconded by a countless number of angered worshippers of science. “Well, we have already produce cloned human embryos for decades now!” the impassive Chinese scientists frighten the world, hiding a smile only racially yellow before their western colleagues that have been lagging well behind.

Pride, pride's sterile debate is everywhere concerning this hysterical confrontation over human cloning. Even the ones that combat it are not exempt from it, because they also believe that, if they want, modern day man can really take over, on his own, the passionate activities of the Creator of the Worlds.

Hundreds of badly formed fetuses are necessary in order to get a single, apparently healthy, cloned animal. Could it be this performance that the scientists are so proud of? Or could it be the expense of thousands of hours and dollars to produce hundreds of stillborn fetuses in a row? Perhaps they feel powerful in performing the role of a prenatal serial killer? And what would an eventual adult human clone think of all this? Would it pride himself on his fratricidal birth? Would it be intrigued in knowing that some frozen test tube in a laboratory served at times as the traditional nervous father figure in the maternity ward?

Then there is the case of looking for the pretentious benefits expected from the research on human cloning. In order to do this, we have to go down to the deepest abyss of the coarsest vanity and presumptuousness of man.

On the lowest degenerate step of cloning, in the prehistory of the highest involution of ex-homo sapiens, we find a ferocious maltha of Neanderthal-like academics, intent on developing human clones with the only objective of supplying organs for transplants (1). The simian eminences squatting around this insane project, idolized like a totem, grunt that clones do not have a soul, and therefore are not exactly human beings. In this assertive there is, however, a subtle flaw of interpretation. As only one that for sometime now has brought within himself only a corrupt soul as a nucleus can actually make such an affirmation, as he has already fallen from the level of being considered as a human being. This attitude just proves that those who are in fact destitute of a true soul are really they themselves. They are the ones that are not human beings anymore. Really, it is not worth the effort in finding adequate adjectives to qualify these ex-humans.

At an immediately superior step we see the cryogenics, an apparently serious lot, but literally very hollow headed. It is the group that authorizes the freezing of body parts after death, preferentially the head, with the foolish hope of being resuscitated at some time in the future through some cloning technique. They believe that they will return in the future living in the same body as now, naturally in the exciting company of mammoths and pterodactyls, which certainly will surely return to life by the simple copied method. What can we note about these people? For as restricted as these people have turned out to be in their intellective blindness, and as poorly as they see their crutch of materialism on which they still support themselves, it is really difficult to evaluate with clearness this kind of conduct. It is a type of amalgamation of stupidity with the ridiculous, stuffed by vanity. Let us leave this step, where there is no more to see other than the most complete spiritual ignorance.

The next step has a festive ambience, cheerful, where the arrival of human clones is awaited with uncurbed anxiety and tender hope. They are the hedonists and slothful, who desire human clones to perform some unworthy tasks of evolved beings, such as: work, study, calculate taxes, pay fines, etc. An admirable new world; where the clones would be very helpful, happy semi-slaves robots with souls. This group desires free time to “develop creativity” and usufruct life in sweet idleness. The clones would take care of the rest, as they would already be very happy for having returned to life precisely due to the fact of human creativity… Morbid fantasy would be a well-qualified attenuant for a similar folly. But here too we are going to abstain from more profound comments, and these very creative people would certainly also prefer it this way.

Going up a little higher, in search of some ethical shimmer amongst the defenders of human cloning, we come across a group of very busy researchers. They are the ones that want to use stem-cells to reproduce healthy human organs. They affirm, that if stem-cells are used in the cloned embryo of the patient, the problem of rejection would be solved at the outset, as the patient would receive a new formed organ from the patient's own genetic make-up.

Still before being able to refute this idea, our attention is attracted to a much higher region of this same plain. At this higher station there is a dissident line that works comprehensibly inconvenienced with the perspective of producing embryos just for this gloomy goal, to soon after simply discarding them as useless humanoids stooges. These dissidents plan to use stem-cells extracted from the bone marrow of the patient and, from there on, try to develop a healthy organ to be used in transplants.

There are two questions here. The first is to know if the stem-cells are really worthy of assuming the functions of any human tissue, such as muscles or nerves. Still there is much controversy about it. Recent studies have thrown a somewhat freezing bucket of water on this enthusiasm, apparently without much fundament. The second question is to know if this is the right way to obtain a real cure of chronic diseases. As usual, the researchers only manage to discern the merely physical evidence staring them in the face, being unable to recognize the causes of the countless degenerative diseases belonging to the soul, cancer inclusive. Naturally there are many other diseases; in fact, their origins come from harmful ways of living, such as improper nourishment and pernicious habits, the vice of smoking being right on top of the list. The problem is, even if these studies are viable, the developed stem-cells would never will be able to act in proper cause for either one or the other, they would never be able to cure illnesses of the soul nor modify the habits of a erroneous way of life. In both cases, the key for an effective cure of the diseases is in the ascending movement of the human spirit, what is required is serious desire and perseverance, scarce qualities nowadays.

At the mystic flank of this highly activate step, that is, on the opposite side of where both teams of the aforementioned cellular researchers act, we find another well-intentioned and somewhat eccentric group conspiring happily. The members of this group want nothing more and nothing less than to get a sample of Jesus' blood impregnated on the cross, and make his clone. Could this then be the so-called “second coming of Christ,” so anxiously waited for by so many followers that would have taken place through a somewhat bizarre manner, through the unexpected and providential help of modern science.

It is impossible not to make a reference here again about human pride, this time present in its highest degree, dwindling off into infinity. Let us go to the trouble of trying to dissect this idea. Beforehand, in its hypothesis it is impossible to find a blood sample of Jesus, and in its absurd supposition that this two thousand year-old blood sample could supply a plausible cell to be cloned, and in the illusion that this clone could be transformed into a human embryo, and still believing that this is developed into a flawless embryo that could be placed in some chosen womb and give birth to a normal child, and finally admitting that this child became an adult, then not even this way can we consider that Jesus has come back.

Who would have returned to Earth, through reincarnation, would it have been a common human spirit, embodied in a common physical human body, developed through a not so miraculous pregnancy. In fact, as they always were and all human pregnancies will always be: absolutely normal events, in strict accordance with the laws of nature. The soul that would have embodied in this earthly cloned body – which would carry the earthly features of Jesus – would be a common soul, probably overburdened with the karma and blame like the majority of us, poor human beings. This man could embrace the many diverse philosophies when grown up, free from being contested by a legion of Pharisees from the 21 st century. He could be Jewish, Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, or Agnostic. He could even be Christian. He could be anything on this Earth, anything, less Jesus.

Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down from the highest heavens and embodied into a physical human body to bring his Word of salvation to Earth. Only through it is anyone able to save themselves, and only when the respective person makes an effort in really living according to this Word, with every fiber of one's body, that is, through one's desires, thoughts, speech and acts. All else is excessive illusion, fruit of theological reveries of pretentious interpretations authorized by the Scriptures, which have no other purpose but foment spiritual indolence with their self-addicting dogmas.

Indeed we can, and we must carry out the legitimate cloning of Jesus' Word in our lives. We must live in such a way that we turn into true clones of this Word. This is the only cloning capable of bring benefit to humanity, the only ethical cloning.

Roberto C. P. Junior

1. About the crime of the transplants of organs, see my article “Behind the Transplants” (in two parts). Return