Does a cloned person have a soul? QUESTION from Connie on January 19, 2003 If indeed a human has been cloned, does that human possess a God-given soul?
I asked someone else and they replied with the question Was it made by God or by man?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on January 26, 2003 Dear Connie:
All life is made by God -- even if man makes life in a laboratory, it is still made by God. God made the building blocks that allow life to exist. Man does not create that.
As for a soul, God can ensoul any creature he wishes. He chose to give that honor to human beings.
When a baby is conceived in its mother's womb is does not have a soul by virtue of the reproductive process. God individually creates and ensouls each and every person a soul at the moment of conception. It is a act of God exclusively.
If someday man is able to clone a human being (which has not happened yet -- what was reported in the news was a hoax) then God may ensoul that creature just as He has ensouled each and every one of us.
Children conceived in test-tubes have souls because God ensouls them at the moment of existence. This is one reason why these various fertility methods are morally wrong. In the process of trying to get one successful baby to implant in the mother's womb, 5-10 babies have died. Each of those babies has a soul and the mothers will likely meet their dead children in heaven.
Although a clone is brought into existence by unconventual means -- as are test-tube babies -- I believe God will ensoul them. They are, afterall, human beings. If they are not ensouled then they would be mere animals and this would do violence to the dignity of human beings. Thus, although God does not approve of cloning, and He also does not approve of test-tube babies, when such things do occur it is not the baby's fault -- God ensouls them.
Back to Index Page