IN THEORY:Is interspecies cloning for research immoral?

British researchers have reignited a debate over interspecies cloning as they seek to eliminate the need for women to donate eggs for the cloning of human embryos. They have proposed experiments that would inject human DNA into animal eggs to "trick" them into thinking they're pregnant. After a few days, the scientists would destroy the cloned embryos and extract stem cells from them that would be used to help researchers better understand the genetic reasons for many diseases. They are pursuing this alternative because of the scarcity of human embryos they can use for research. Critics say the technique is immoral. Do you think interspecies cloning is immoral or a tool to better mankind?

That's like asking me if I think murdering Gypsies is wrong. It doesn't matter who it is, any murder is wrong. The same is true with interspecies cloning. I don't care if you're cloning sheep or cows or mixing species. It is all wrong and unnecessary. God has given us perfectly capable and enjoyable means of reproduction without needing human intervention. One of the reasons there is a bottleneck in getting eggs is because most women are uncomfortable giving up their eggs for cloning or research. This should be one clue as to the morality of it. You cannot bypass this by adding insult to injury. Both the dignity of humanity and these animals dictates we be more thoughtful than just abdicating to mere convenience.

Our culture has so bought into the modern idea that humans and animals are of equal dignity and value that we have lost the distinctions. For example, we will argue that men and women are created equal in dignity, we are not exchangeable. We are different and those differences are to be honored and dignified. A man is not a woman and a woman is not a man; our dignity arises in both our humanity and our sexuality. The same is true with animals. They have dignity in their created purposes, but they are not exchangeable. A woodlouse (a.k.a. "roly-poly") does not have equal value to my dog. I will not spend $300 to make sure a woodlouse survives getting run over by a car. Nor will I spend $300,000 to rescue my dog compared to what I would spend to rescue my child. There are differences in value of each creation. Each has dignity in its design. To mess with intermingling species is like taking a Da Vinci sculpture and mixing it with a Picasso sculpture. It not only violates the beauty of the art, but also insults the intent of the artists.