In view of recent advances in the medical sciences, religious circles and society in general have reacted based on ethical and religious concerns. Negative reactions are based on fears that such developments：1) infringe upon God's jurisdiction (to create，to control birth and death)，2) violate human dignity (life becomes "materialistic" and "commercialized")，3) challenges traditional modes of reproduction and family life，and 4) could lead to undesirable eugenic policies.
Since the Buddhist explanation for the origin of life is based on the doctrine of dependent arising，from Buddhist doctrine and precepts it seems that human cloning and embryo stem cell research do not violate any kind of divine jurisdiction. As for the right to identity，Buddhism advocates the doctrine of no-self (which denies any sort of unitary，permanent，or immutable soul)，and hence can interpret and understand such issues more accurately.
In relation to the precept against not killing people，the Mahi`sasakavinaya divides the embryo's development into two stages, 1) "humanlike" (from zygote till 49 days later) and 2) "human" (after 49 days). However，if Buddhist monks or nuns intentionally kill the fetus, regardless of whether it is in the "humanlike" or "human" stage，they are guilty of a serious misdeed，a paaraajika (defeat) transgression. In addition，according to the Yogaacaarabhuumi，a bodhisattva may，based on the idea of expedient means, choose to kill an evil person out of compassion，thereby taking upon himself karmic retribution and saving the evil person from suffering great karmic retribution. However，Buddhist scriptures do not discuss whether a human embryo can be used to benefit other sentient beings.
As we consider new forms of biotechnology that did not exist during the Buddha's time such as human-assisted reproduction，cloning，and embryo stem cell research, we may find new divisions to "life." For instance，cellular life as opposed to human life，embryo as opposed to pre-embryo，and (as a result of in-vitro fertilization procedures) embryos in a laboratory as opposed to embryos in a womb. Buddhists need to discuss such issues in relation to the precepts, and taking into consideration legal regulations, establish norms and criteria so that a balance can be struck between "protecting life" and "improving life" when these values conflict.
