Human cloning

Global debates about human cloning are raging following claims that experiments are set to start. Jane Perrone explains the issue

Special report: ethics of genetics

What is cloning?
The Human Genetics Advisory Commission has defined cloning as "producing a cell or organism with the same nuclear genome as another cell or organism".

What about cloning humans?
Scientists began cloning frogs in the 1950s. When a team from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh successfully cloned an adult mammal for the first time in 1996, the possibility of human cloning came a step closer to reality. No one has managed to clone a human being yet, but several groups have announced that they plan to do so.

How is it done?
Dolly the sheep was cloned by transferring the nucleus of a body cell into an egg which had already had its nucleus removed. This is also known as nuclear transfer. It is likely that an attempt to clone humans would be based on the same method.

Why do it?
A supply of donor organs, eradicating genetic diseases and allowing infertile couples to reproduce are some of the more mainstream reasons to clone humans. Then there are the more outlandish reasons for cloning, including cloning dead people and seeking eternal life by cloning as old age approaches.

Why is the National Academy of Sciences discussing cloning?
The ongoing debate about the ethical, medical, social and scientific implications of human cloning is growing as more scientists announce plans to clone humans. The academy is gathering information from leading scientists in the field before it puts together a report on whether the US should impose a moratorium on human cloning.

Which scientists will be there?
The session likely to provoke the most media interest will discuss human cloning. The three speakers - Severino Antinori, the head of a thriving Rome-based chain of IVF clinics, Panayiotis Michael Zavos, who heads an organisation called The Andrology Institute, and Brigitte Boisselier of Clonaid, which sells itself as "the first human cloning company" - have all said they are planning human cloning experiments.

Antinori and Zavos claim that they have the volunteers and the funding to begin human cloning trials in November.

Clonaid, which was set up by a UFO-worshipping cult called the Raelians, say it plans to beat them in the race to produce the first human clone.

Is human cloning legal?
The Food and Drug Administration has prohibited human cloning in the US, and the House of Representatives has voted to ban human cloning for any purpose. George Bush is considering whether to allow use of government funds in embryonic stem cell research, including such research that does not involve cloning.

In Britain, Alan Milburn, the health secretary, announced in April that the UK will ban human cloning in a bid to lay to rest the "twin spectres" of human cloning and a "genetic underclass".

What is stem cell research?
Stem cells are the master cells found in early stage embryos. They evolve into all the different tissues of the body, and doctors hope to treat many diseases by directing the cells to develop into needed implants.

At present, scientists usually obtain them from human embryos discarded during fertility treatments. However, human cloning techniques could create a continuous supply of stem cells for such research.

Why ban human cloning?
Most mainstream scientists are set against attempts at reproductive human cloning, including Ian Wilmut, the British embryologist who led the team which cloned Dolly the sheep, and Richard Gardner, who chaired a Royal Society working group on human cloning. The most persuasive argument is that the risks are far too great at present. It is feared that human cloning would be cruel, because the process may result in a large number of miscarriages and deformities before a human could be successfully cloned. For instance, it took 272 attempts to create Dolly. Even then, the child could not be guaranteed ongoing good health.

As Prof Gardner put it: "Our experience with animals suggests that there would be a very real danger of creating seriously handicapped individuals if anybody tries to implant cloned human embryos into the womb."

Many religious groups, including some Roman Catholic and Muslim organisations, also object to cloning. There are many ethical arguments for a ban, including fears that cloning humans will lead to "designer babies" with genetic traits selected by their parents, or a black market for embryos, and the creation of a "genetic underclass".

Related articles
19.04.2001: Human cloning to be outlawed
19.04.2001: 'Genetic knowledge parks' planned

Comment and analysis
Julian Borger: Cloning cannot be curbed
09.04.2001, Johnjoe McFadden: How to live longer

Useful links
Human Genetics Commission
The Raelian Revolution
National Academies of Science
Roslin Institute
The Andrology Institute
International moratorium on human cloning should be considered - Royal Society
Human Cloning Foundation