Author: kmill32

This speech was written from the perspective of a medical professional specializing in reproductive technology as if it were being given before Congress.

As a distinguished medical professional with a wide range of expertise in the area of reproductive technology, it is an honor to be able to address you today on such a controversial topic. Cloning has led to much controversy in the scientific and medical world and I feel it is of importance to address the issues of such a technology that has the capability to alter the creation of life. By definition, reproductive cloning creates an organism that has the exact same nuclear DNA as an already existing organism. This is possible by the transfer of a nucleus into an empty donor egg. This egg is then transferred into the uterus of the host organism. While this process seems simple and straightforward on the surface, it has actually developed into one of the more debated and problematic of the reproductive technologies currently available. I am here before you today to propose a continuation of funding for the research of reproductive cloning in hopes that someday it will become accepted and used just as often as other reproductive technologies on the market.

 

Due to the wide range of expertise I hold within the arena of reproductive technology and in order to give you the best idea of why funding should be continued, I would first like to address the arguments that exist against reproductive cloning. First and foremost, the very obvious argument exists in that cloning alters and plays with human life in a way that God has not intended it to be. This argument is very prominent within the Catholic religion. As a medical professional, I wish not to impose religious beliefs upon you, but simply to provide you with a basis to make the proper decision to continue funding for our research. In order to do so, it is necessary to analyze reproductive cloning within the Catholic faith. The Catholic faith views reproductive cloning as an asexual act, one that strips the sacred procreative act from husband and wife. The egg is viewed as an experiment or as technologically manipulated, rather than natural and willed by God. According to the Church, using technology to produce children is not the natural way to reproduce and therefore is not the Godly way (Breitowitz).  It is safe to say that the Catholic religion would reject funding for these very reasons. As I stand here and address you, it would be naïve of me to ignore the possibility that many of you are Catholic. With this being said, I ask you to look past the view that life is being manipulated, and more towards the idea that reproductive cloning is being used to grant life to those that may not be able to conceive otherwise. I know the Catholic religion places emphasis on the family, and the very fact that cloning allows a mother and father to have a child of their own, with similar DNA, should encourage you to want to contribute funds to further research.

 

While I am sure there exists more than just Catholics who oppose this practice, I am here to address some of the other arguments against the continuation of funding for reproductive cloning. Aside from the argument that reproductive cloning involves the manipulation of life, many people also hold onto the idea that we are manipulating genetics as well. People are cautious that “cloning-to-produce-children could come to be used privately for individualized eugenic or “enhancement” purposes” (Kass 108). I argue that although this is a legitimate concern in regards to maintaining the “naturalness” of human nature, this concern would be irrelevant if reproductive cloning were to become common within society. While I am standing here today to argue for the continuation of funding in regards to reproductive cloning, I am not making the claim that this technology would be permissible without restriction. As a medical professional with only the best interests of human nature in mind, it would be unfathomable to allow cloning under any reservations. If funding were to be provided, I can assure you that regulations would be put in place to restrict the situations unto which the technology could be used. These regulations would be very similar to those that exist for other existing reproductive technologies today. It is a widespread belief within my medical community, that these regulations would remain in place were reproductive cloning to become commonplace within society. With this being said and having addressed the most common arguments against reproductive cloning, it is now time to move on to why funding for this technology should be continued.

 

As mentioned previously I am honored to stand before you today and give you ample reason to continue to provide funding for reproductive cloning. I find that most of my arguments lie within the sphere of Jewish tradition, but I am not Jewish myself and therefore have no reason to persuade you to agree with their beliefs. I simply use Jewish traditions and beliefs to make my argument more valid in hopes that funding will be continued. On that note, I would like to begin with an analysis of how cloning is viewed in Israel and under Jewish religious teachings. There are two main ideas that I feel are important for making my argument. First, Jewish law says that the “ex utero embryo is not regarded as comparable with an implanted embryo, and in no way is it considered equivalent to a fully fledged human being” (Prainsack 182). This is a critical point because in contrast to many of the arguments against using this technology, under Jewish law, the embryo is not considered a human. Therefore, previous arguments regarding the manipulation of human nature no longer exist as the embryo is considered nothing more than just an embryo. Second, under Jewish law it is also noted that “human beings – since they were created in God’s image – are not only entitled to but mandated to create” (Prainsack 183). This view is directly in contrast to that held by the Catholic church. Although I am not here to judge which view is correct, this view provides more opportunity to create life without restrictions, which is where my central argument lies.

 

To recap, what I have presented you with so far and why I am standing here today is important to why I am ultimately arguing for the continuation of funding for reproductive cloning. Following along with the beliefs under Jewish law, as a medical professional I feel it is necessary to allow human nature to create life, and create life without restriction. I am not arguing that we should allow reproductive cloning under any circumstances, but rather we should be allowed to reproduce and create life given the means we have available. Reproductive cloning is one of these means and therefore we should be able to take advantage of such technology. I must make it clear here that I am not arguing that we ignore all safety and ethical considerations and use reproductive technologies under all circumstances. Rather, I am arguing that with the given technology and given various ethical and moral considerations within society, we should be allowed to take advantage in order to create life. While some of you may be surprised to hear such a proactive stance from a medical professional, time and technology are rapidly changing. Everyday new technologies are being built and we are finding new ways to use technology to improve medical practices. With this being said, I, and many of my colleagues within the medical community, find it critical that we take advantage of the technology available to us now in order to improve upon it for the future. To put it another way, it is critical that we use the reproductive technologies available to us currently, because otherwise how will we ever make improvements? How will we advance the medical field and medical technology if we don’t ever fully comprehend the ones we have available to us now? I stand before you today and argue for the continuation of funding for reproductive cloning for just these very reasons. Reproductive cloning is a technology, that when implemented properly, has the ability to improve and enhance the creation of life. We must continue to research this technology in order to soon implement it within society and determine its effects and what can be improved upon for the future. Technology is rapidly changing the world around us, and we must keep up in order to keep advancing the medical field as well as society as a whole. The continuation of funding for reproductive cloning will only further allow us to pursue these goals and in the end will make it possible to improve upon such technology. I thank you for your time and I hope you will take into consideration the future of society when considering the continuation of funding for reproductive cloning.

 

In module four, we continue to expand our analysis of reproductive technologies in different society’s and religious cultures. The first piece we read in module four was Magical Progeny, Modern Technology by Swasti Bhattacharyya. Bhattacharyya sets out to analyze how reproductive technology fits within Hindu ethics by analyzing the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Bhattacharyya discusses six things that provide the basis for Hindu society and bioethics: the centrality of society, belief in the underlying unity of all life, the responsibilities and flexibility of dharma, the diversity within Hinduism, the theory of karma, and the teachings of ahimsa. These ideas are then expanded on within the text and Bhattacharyya discusses how they are applied when dealing with reproductive technologies.

After reading this text I immediately noted a historical element to Bhattacharyya’s writing. Although she does use her experiences as a nurse to examine the six ideas of Hindu ethics, her analysis is very much rooted in a literal interpretation of the past. She examines experiences in regards to how they fit into the Mahabharata, rather than how they possibly alter or interpret those ideas differently.

The second piece we read was “Modern Technologies and Jewish Law” by Michael Broyde. Throughout his piece, Broyde discusses the technology of cloning in regards to the perspective of Jewish law. Specifically, Broyde aims to determine whether Jewish law views the practice of cloning as a good deed, a bad deed or simply a permissible activity. He comes to the conclusion, that while Jewish law does not explicitly state the practice of cloning as prohibited, it is not necessarily looked upon as the most ideal reproductive technology available. Broyde also analyzes the relationship between the cloner and their clone. I found this part of Broyde’s analysis the most interesting because of the distinction he makes between father and clone and mother and clone. The relationship between male cloner and clone is father and child, but female cloner and clone leaves the possibility open of having two respective mothers, gestational mother and genetic mother. In my opinion, although the clone and gestational mother are not genetically related, I would lean towards a mother-child relationship anyways as that is the female willing to take on the responsibility of nurture and love for the child. Would you argue that a mother-child relationship constitutes genetic similarity or love and care? I don’t think this is a question that will ever have a definite answer, but it is one that will continue to be argued in the realm of reproductive technologies as the capability to alter genes and reproduce increases.

The third and last piece we read in this module was Dr. Seeman’s chapter titled “Ethnography, Exegesis and Jewish Ethical Reflection: The New Reproductive Technologies in Israel.”  The goal of Dr. Seeman’s analysis is to differentiate Jewish and Israeli approaches to reproductive technology from Christian and Western approaches. What I found to be the most important and most interesting point of this analysis was that Dr. Seeman puts into perspective the fact that we can’t just read and interpret religious or sacred texts to their literal meaning. While yes we can determine what the religion or culture’s stance is on reproductive technology by reading these texts, we will never be able to fully determine how those interpretations are put into practice if we don’t look at the whole picture. Aside from an interpretive perspective, we must also look at ethnographic accounts in the real world. What Dr. Seeman calls the “two-pronged approach” is beneficial because it allows us to measure interpretations against real moral dilemmas. Personally, the idea of this approach made me begin to doubt the importance of the “rules” or “codes” defined in religious texts regarding reproductive technologies. While yes these rules serve as the basis for what is permitted and prohibited, if society doesn’t interpret them the way the creators or writers meant them to be interpreted, then what value do they really bring? Dr. Seeman’s approach really made me value the importance of ethnography and how the interpretations of society can really dictate how those rules are followed. If I were to visualize a balance with ethnographic accounts on one side and literal interpretations on the other, I would lean the scale in favor of ethnography, providing it with a little more emphasis.

After reading these texts, some glaring differences stuck out to me. First of all, Bhattacharyya’s book is rooted in ideas of the Mahabharata and the past. Her analysis of the six ideas of Hindu ethics are literal and her ethnographic accounts attempt to fit those ideas. In contrast, Dr. Seeman’s chapter warns against this approach of literal interpretation in favor of a two sided approach that looks at literal interpretations as well as ethnographic accounts. This approach provides for a more rounded analysis of how reproductive technologies are regarded in society and how they contribute to real moral dilemmas, rather than just analyzing how these technologies were meant to be put into practice. Broyde’s writing also contrasts that of Bhattacharyya’s because it examines reproductive technology, cloning in particular, in regards to the future. He uses Jewish law to determine a stance on cloning, while Bhattacharyya does the opposite in that she approaches ethnographic accounts in terms of the law.

While reading these three pieces, I was really forced to think of reproductive technologies in terms of the law versus in terms of society and how they interpret the laws. I think these two ideas are different and both need to be considered when analyzing reproductive technologies. I want to ask the class, would you regard the literal interpretations of the law as more important when regarding these technologies, or would you place more emphasis on how society interprets them? In my opinion, I think both drastically effect how reproductive technologies are regarded within society, and the greater the disconnect between the two, literal interpretation and society’s interpretation, the greater controversy that arises. All three of these texts added to my understanding of reproductive technologies within different religious cultures, and I hope in following classes we can continue to expand upon these differences.