Cloning: The question is, WHY?

Tuesday, December 31, 2002

Dawn Cribbs, Associate Editor

Dawn Cribbs

Big news for our world erupted Dec. 27 with the announcement of the live birth of what was purported to be the first cloned human being, a girl child nicknamed Eve.

The interesting and scary twist to this thing is that it was allegedly accomplished, not by a scientific entity, but by a religious sect known as the Raelians (pronounced RYE-elians).

This particular group believes that all of humankind had its beginning through extraterrestrial genetic engineering which would of course allow that cloning would be the next logical step in our progression as humankind.

The founder, nee Claude Vorihon, is Rael, a name he took, according to the Associated Press, sometime after a visitation from little green space aliens during a tour of a French volcano.

According to Rael, cloning is the pathway to immortality. As he explained in the AP story "the next step will be to directly clone an adult person without having to go through the growth process and to transfer memory and personality in this person.

"Then, we wake up after death in a brand new body just like after a good night's sleep."

This begs the question, "Why?"

Why would anyone want to do that?

Fantasy fiction writers, such as those featured on Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone chilled and thrilled viewers with similar scenarios as a depiction of one possible form of hell.

That would do it for me. If this guy's idea of eternal life means living this life here, perpetually, ad infinitum, he can have it.

No matter how much joy I have experienced here -- and I have experienced great and abiding joy -- this life is not the life I want to live forever.

Look around. Do you really want to be here -- forever? In this world, where the war drums beat incessantly -- where nations rise up against nations, neighbors rise up against neighbors and fathers rise up against sons? Would this be your choice for eternity?

Turmoil, unrest, disquiet, tension, stress, injustice, poverty, hunger, meanness in the streets, meanness in our own hearts are our reality here. Don't we yearn in our deepest hearts for something better, something purer?

Setting aside the imperfections of this world, and the implications of eternity spent here, a second problem reveals itself.

Proponents may argue that with this technology, the talents of Bach, the genius of Einstein and the compassion of Mother Teresa could be a part of our world once again, rather than having been laid to rest when those souls passed on.

The counter argument is clear -- could we not then also have Adolf Hitler perpetually in our midst, or Pol Pot, Genghis Khan, Ted Bundy or Joseph Stalin? This list seems endless. These evildoers do not deserve an eternity here, but the one designed for Satan, since they served his nefarious purposes during their lives.

The whole issue may have escaped my notice as just another attempt to make true the first and greatest temptation offered to mankind "you will be like God" (Gen. 3:4) until I read this statement in the AP story, "The Raelians also contend Jesus was resurrected using an advanced cloning technique performed by "Elohim."

According to Rael, Elohim is mis-translated in the Bible to mean God, when in actuality it describes the extraterrestrial race humankind sprang from.

I found it interesting that Rael would mention Jesus and God at all in his explanations, since he does not purport to believe in a higher authority. Perhaps it is his intention to forestall opposition from Judeo-Christianity by throwing out these ill-conceived suppositions.

Of course, all of this may become a moot point if it turns out that "Eve" is a hoax, but I do not doubt that cloning may indeed be within the realm of possibility, for by God's own admission, "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." (Gen. 11:6)

Man has astounded himself through the ages with the discoveries made by the courageous few, up to and including those made during the last 100 years when we took flight, traversing even the heavens themselves. Things once thought far-fetched, impossible dreams are commonplace nowadays when we consider telecommunications, computerization, and the strides made in the scientific realm and in medicine.

Perhaps it's just as well this story broke as it did, with its incredible tale of extraterrestrial beginnings and its foolhardy quest for immortality. Science has typically cast the burgeoning technology in the guise of altruism, citing the immeasurable benefits to mankind as it promises to ease the pain of illness and disease.

I will not belabor the position of whether or not cloning is possible. Nor will I belabor the moral ramifications. I'll come right out and say it, "Don't go there."

Remember the adage, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" and step back from this moral precipice.