Brave New World?

posted by Derek Thomas

Harvard University has announced it will begin cloning human embryos.The scientists say that they plan to harvest stem cells in the hope that they might be able to fight blood diseases like leukaemia and diabetes. In this Huxlian scenario, as Oliver O'Donovan, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University, has pointed out, this is yet another example of our desire to "make" rather than "beget." It reflects our technological culture overwhelmed by "making." It is the creature raising its head and declaring itself to be Creator. It is another example of Paul Ramsey's "fabricated man."