Stem Cells, Cloning, Genetic Engineering: It's All About Where You Live and What You Believe

John Tierney has an interesting essay in the New York Times in which he makes the argument that religious boundaries will ultimately be the lines of demarcation between cultures that accept human cloning and those that do not. "American and European researchers have made most of the progress so far in biotechnology. Yet they still face one very large obstacle -- God, as defined by some Western religions," Tierney writes. He says Asian religions tend to be less censorious of cloning, genetic engineering, and other methods than Western religions, adding that consequently, "prominent Western scientists have been going to Asia, like the geneticists Nancy Jenkins and Neal Copeland, who left the National Cancer Institute and moved last year to Singapore."