Declaration on Human Cloning

The United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning, passed in 2005, calls for member states to prohibit all forms of human cloning that are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. While this declaration provides room for countries to pursue therapeutic cloning, it emphasizes the ethical concerns surrounding the practice.1

Cloning is the process of creating a genetically identical copy of a cell or organism. This occurs naturally through asexual reproduction in organisms like bacteria. In humans, cells undergoing mitosis are clones, with the exception of gametes.1

In biomedical research, cloning can refer to duplicating biological materials like DNA or cells. However, the most ethically debated aspect involves creating and using cloned human embryos for research, therapeutic, or reproductive purposes. Reproductive cloning, which aims to create a whole organism, is widely condemned due to significant psychological, social, and physiological risks, as well as concerns about eugenics and human dignity. Therapeutic cloning, on the other hand, focuses on using cloned embryos to harvest stem cells for treating diseases, though it also faces ethical objections regarding the creation and destruction of embryos.12