Politics and Science

March 3, 2006

(via Kansas City Star)
The state of Missouri is in the midst of a battle over cloning, and there is a growing movement to place the “Missouri Stem Cell and Cures Initiative” on the ballot there. The skirmish has erupted over the definition of cloning. On the one hand, there is the scientific definition of the process, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), where the nucleus of a cell is inserted into an egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed. An electrical charge is applied and a new embryo has been created. The political definition of cloning, on the other hand, asserts that unless this cloned embryo is transferred into a womb, no cloning has actually taken place. This is misleading to the point of being dishonest: “scientifically, implantation is not an act of cloning. Rather, it is one potential use of a cloned embryo that was previously created.” The opinion piece by Wesley J. Smith does a great job of explaining the implications this politicized definition holds for the debate over cloning. Read the whole thing.