NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      CHICAGO (CWNews.com) - An ethics committee of the American Medical Association issued its recommendations concerning human cloning on Monday, saying the process is not scientifically necessary and should be opposed.

      The committee presented its report at the AMA's annual meeting, saying that only acceptable cloning would be for replacement organs or tissues, as long as it does not include cloning embryos. AMA delegates will determine this week whether the panel's recommendations should be adopted as part of the 294,000-member organization's code of ethics.

      Acknowledging the benefits of cloning, the committee reported: "Human cloning as an approach to fertility has ethical hazards in the areas of individual autonomy, privacy, and informed consent. It also raises difficult and unresolved legal questions and even more difficult psychosocial problems about family and other social relations. These issues appear insolvable, and therefore make human cloning an unacceptable treatment for fertility."

      The panel also recommended against cloning to as a solution for terminal illness, to eliminate genetic defects, or for the use of unborn children's tissues for replacement parts.