The Government recently announced a cautious go-ahead to so-called therapeutic cloning. This involves the creation of human embryos which can be harvested for special cells and has been rightly described as the most difficult moral dilemma for a decade.

On one hand, researchers believe it may be possible to direct embryonic stem cells to become selected types of replacement tissue which could be used to treat a wide range of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. It would also probably solve the problem of transplant tissue rejection, with some experts believing it may be possible to eventually grow entire replacement organs in the laboratory.

However, to use therapeutic cloning for the production of embryonic stem cells is wrong because it is failing to recognise the dignity of the human embryo. It is using a human being as a means to an end, which is unjustifiable.

-Rev. John Webster, Nevill Avenue, Hove