The Ethical and Theological Implications of Human CloningIntroductionAdvancements in science and technology have often brought about revolutionary changes in the way society perceives the world. When computers were invented, they were used to calculate ballistic tables; today, they perform a myriad of functions unimaginable when they were designed. Space travel has changed the way humanity views itself in a larger context, the universe. In 1978, the first test tube baby was born in England, demonstrating for the first time that babies could be conceived outside of their mothers' wombs. Each of these events caused a lot of excitement and each advance posed new challenges for society; however, no area of ​​science has been the subject of more debate than that centered on reproductive biotechnologies. From the first successful demonstration of in vitro fertilization to the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1996, changes in scientists' ability to manipulate the heart of human existence, DNA, have sparked wide-ranging debates. worldwide. In this article, I intend to discuss one of the most recent advances in reprogenetics, cloning, and the ethical and theological debates surrounding its use. What is cloning? Cloning is a scientific technology by which an organism's genetic structure, or DNA, is replicated. Exactly. Microorganisms such as bacteria do this naturally, but for other creatures, especially mammals, certain ingredients are necessary to reproduce. An egg from a female, sperm from a male, and a female uterus were all necessary for reproduction. That is, until Dolly was cloned in Scotland in February 1997. Breeding a sheep without these three traditional ingredients revolutionized the way scientists and others viewed middle of paper...... at Dolly & the Path Ahead (New York, NY: William Morrow & Co., Inc, 1998)Lammers, Stephen E. and Allen Verhey, eds., On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives in Medical Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm . B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988) Pence, Gregory, Who's Afraid of Cloning? (New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998)Shaw, William H., Social and Personal Ethics (Washington, DC: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1996)Silver, Lee M. Remaking Eden (New York, NY : Avon Books, Inc., 1988) U.S. Senate Hearing, “Ethics and Theology: Continuation of the National Debate on Human Cloning,” hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety of the Committee on Labor and Resources Humans, June 17, 1997Wray, Herbert, Jeffery L. Sheler and Traci Watson, “The World After Cloning.” U.S. News & World Report (March 10, 1998) 59