Cloning Humans = Dehumanized
From Secondhand Smoke:
One of the big issues that causes many feminists to oppose therapeutic human cloning is the distinct possibility that women, particularly the most destitute women, will be exploited for their eggs. . .
When S. Korean researcher Woo-Suk Hwang successfully cloned the first human cloned embryos, there were rumors that women on his research team had been coerced to "donate" their eggs (which requires an onerous medical procedure), or that other irregularities had occurred. Hwang denied it. But now, an American researcher, who had agreed to team with Hwang, has quit, citing inappropriate conduct by Hwang surrounding the human egg issue. . .
Human cloning leads to dehumanization: Of the clone, of women, and of our ethical values.
For many months after Hwang's 2004 publication, rumors had spread in scientific circles that the eggs Hwang used to achieve that landmark result had been taken from a junior scientist in his lab. That situation, if true, would be in violation of widely held ethics principles that preclude people in positions of authority from accepting egg donations from underlings. The rules are meant to prevent subtle -- or not-so-subtle -- acts of coercion.
Questions have also circulated as to whether the woman received illegal payments for her role.
Schatten said that Hwang had repeatedly denied the rumor and that he had believed Hwang until yesterday. "I now have information that leads me to believe he had misled me," Schatten said. "My trust has been shaken. I am sick at heart. I am not going to be able to collaborate with Woo Suk."
