God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning

Discussions and debates over the medical use of stem cells and cloning have always had a religious component. But there are many different religious voices. This anthology on how religious perspectives can inform the difficult issues of stem cell research and human cloning is essential to the discussion. Contributors reflect the spectrum of Christian responses, from liberal Protestant to evangelical to Roman Catholic. The noted moral philosopher, Laurie Zoloth, offers a Jewish approach to cloning, and Sondra Wheeler contributes her perspective on both Jewish and Christian understandings of embryonic stem cell research.

In addition to the discussions found here, God and the Embryo includes a series of official statements on stem cell research and cloning from religious bodies, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America. "Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry," from the statement of the President's Council on Bioethics, concludes the book.

The debates and the discussions will continue, but for anyone interested in the nuances of religious perspectives that make their important contributions to these ethically challenging and important dialectics, God and the Embryo is an invaluable resource.

Brent Waters is director of the Center for Ethics and Values, and assistant professor of Christian Social Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He is the author of Reproductive Technology: Towards a Theology of Procreative Stewardship and co-author (with Ronald Cole-Turner) of Pastoral Genetics: Theology and Care at the Beginning of Life.

Ronald Cole-Turner is the H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Recent publications include the edited volumes, Human Cloning: Religious Perspectives and Beyond Cloning: Religion and the Remaking of Humanity.