The Roman Catholic's View of Human Cloning

Excerpted from "Cloning Human Beings: Religious Perspectives on Human Cloning"-- a commissioned paper by Courtney S. Campbell, Ph.D. Oregon State University

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the U.S., with approximately 40% of the religious population and over 20% of the general population. The religious and moral authority for Roman Catholicism is grounded in the witness of God and Jesus Christ in the Bible, as interpreted through the teaching office (magisterium) of the Church. In the United States, Roman Catholic teaching is coordinated by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). Roman Catholic theologians, though not always in agreement with magisterial teaching, have been among the most influential contributors in biomedical ethics, and have addressed the possibility of human cloning since the 1960s. Magisterial Teaching. Donum Vitae, an encyclical issued in 1987 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith condemned cloning (blastomere separation) as a violation of the dignity of the human embryo and of the intrinsic goods of human sexuality: “...attempts or hypotheses for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through ‘twin fission,’ cloning, or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union.” While some traditions have addressed the possible abuses of cloning technology, Roman Catholic teaching maintains that the use of cloning techniques with respect to human beings is itself contrary to human dignity. Scientific research on cloning since Donum Vitae has issued in ecclesiastical condemnation and a request to governments to enact legislation to prohibit non-therapeutic research on human embryos and cloning of human beings. In the wake of the cloning of “Dolly,” a Vatican statement reiterated the basic teaching of Donum Vitae: “A person has the right to be born in a human way. It is to be strongly hoped that states...will immediately pass a law that bans the application of cloning on humans and that in the face of pressures, [states] have the force to make no concessions.” National Conference of Catholic Bishops. In the United States, the NCCB released a statement in March 1997 rejecting human cloning on several grounds, including an appeal to the rights of children to have real parents and not to be manufactured as copies. Moreover, research involving the cloning of human embryos is deemed unethical due to its risks and nontherapeutic objectives. The NCCB also issued support for the testimony of John Cardinal O’Connor before the New York State Senate (13 March 1997). Cardinal O’Connor criticized cloning as contrary to human parenthood and human wisdom. Human cloning violates the norms of procreation and parenthood through a process that removes “the humanism from human parents and the human child.” A serious survey of the state of our degraded external environment reveals that human beings lack the wisdom to experiment with the internal human environment. O’Connor emphasizes in particular questions of technical inefficiency and issues of the character and qualifications of those who would direct the research and process of cloning, concluding that these are not matters to be left to technical specialists. O’Connor also observes that cloning falls beyond the parameters of the vocation of medicine: “The act of human cloning itself cures no pathology. Thus, we are not doctoring the patient but doctoring the race.” While Roman Catholicism encourages scientific development in the service of the person and human dignity, proposals for research “that are hostile to human parenthood, unknown in deleterious consequences, and cure no disease...are not medicine and are not welcome.” Theologians: Cloning Research. While many Roman Catholic theologians have addressed the subject of human cloning, Richard A. McCormick, S.J., has provided the most constant Catholic commentary on cloning. His themes will be used as illustrative of the central concerns of theologians within the tradition. McCormick has invoked the themes of sanctity, wholeness, and individuality in criticizing cloning research on human pre-embryos. Cloning is not merely a question of scientific technique, but also involves matters of the public interest. McCormick is concerned that such research will erode respect for the human pre-embryo and pre-nascent life, and diminish the wonder of human diversity and uniqueness. Parenthood. McCormick has also argued that human cloning is contrary to the meaning of marriage and the family. The purpose of marriage includes the binding of the unitive and procreative purposes of sexuality. Reproductive technologies, including cloning, suggest that embodiment is extrinsic rather than intrinsic to personhood. Such procedures depersonalize the family, “debodify” marital love, and violate the sacramental covenant of marriage. Moreover, natural law encompasses duties for both procreation and education of offspring; parental nurture is required to enable a child to develop morally and spiritually and to assume interpersonal commitments. Roman Catholic theologians have emphasized the sins of pride and self-interest, and the human conditions of finitude and fallibility, in assessing the prospects of human cloning. However, avoiding pride should not mean falling into the sin of sloth. Human beings have a divine responsibility for dominion that can be expanded through justified scientific research.

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