What Differentiates Therapeutic Cloning from Reproductive Cloning Under Jewish Law

Even after rabbinic scholars have examined the issue of human cloning and stem cell research, it is clear that Judaism, as a religious identity as a whole, has no real position when it comes to the issue of cloning. So often in religious circles, not just Judaism, religious sectors take long periods of time to discuss and debate whether new technological and scientific methods are permissible or prohibited under their own religious law. John Evans who is the theological professor at California University summed up the Jewish question and position best when he stated, "The prospects of human cloning elicit ambivalence but seldom explicit condemnation in Jewish scholarship."

Unlike other world religions such as Christianity, there is no head authority of the Jewish movements and because Judaism has so many sectors and movements, it is difficult to gain one interpretation or one ideal stance that the Jewish religion has taken on cloning. As stated previously in this paper, a favorable view on cloning is held in many sectors of Judaism because of its ability to heal the sick and relieve the suffering. Reproductive technology will continue to get more advanced and will have the ability to grant a matching kidney transplant from a cloned individual to the original human being and save the person's life or help them live a better life.

One area of concern and is a heated topic in most world religions such as Roman Catholicism and Protestantism but not a concern in the Jewish community is the disposal of stem cell embryos. The testing of stem cells and embryos are not implanted into a woman's womb and therefore are not considered fetuses. Moreover, Jewish law doesn't even consider a fetus to be a potential human life until after forty days have passed. Once this time frame for a fetus has passed, it is against Jewish law to harm it in any way including for the use of research. On the other hand, there is no legal or ethical objection under Jewish law for prohibiting the use of embryos containing DNA that are not implanted in a woman's womb, to be used in research laboratories since embryos that exist outside of the mother's womb that are not considered a fetus have no standing or status in Jewish law. Thus, human life is not required or encouraged to be destroyed and still accommodates the teachings in the Torah. Therapeutic cloning has been gaining widespread acceptance within the Jewish community. The saving of lives as the responsibility of the physician or "pikuach nefesh" is one of the most important commandments and despite a few critics arguing that embryos used for research are wasting life, the research being done in laboratories has a great chance of helping with cures for diseases and that has been the dominant opinion in the Jewish community regarding this issue. Rabbi and biology professor Moses Tendler summed up the Jewish position best when he said, "A ban on therapeutic cloning would be a travesty of justice launched on humanity because this technique is clearly the best hope that man has for curing a disease.

In fact, some rabbis who are staunch supporters of stem cell research and therapeutic cloning go so far as to compare it to shedding blood. Rabbi Mark Washofsky who is a Human Stem Cell Research analyst declared, "Indeed, our tradition requires that we use all available knowledge to heal the ill, and when one delays in doing so, it is as if he has shed blood."