Quit Cloning Around
January 2003
Just days before the New Year, a French company, Clonaid, announced that it had created a human clone - a baby girl named Eve that was born on Thursday, December 27,
2002. CEO Brigitte Boisselier has spent many days on the news circuit since, explaining why the clone was made and fielding accusations that it doesn't exist.
So far, Clonaid has offered no proof of the clone. According to Boisselier, "The proof will be given by an independent expert that has been hired by somebody
else.... I don't even know his name and his whereabouts, but I trust he's respectful enough so that you can trust him.... That's the only proof I can give you, actually."
President George W. Bush expressed great concern over Clonaid's announcement, saying he was "deeply" troubled by the news. He urged Congress to pass a ban
on human cloning as soon as possible.
Beyond the religious and philosophical issues of cloning a human being, there are questions of health and medical ethics. Cloning can be seen as experimenting on a
human being, and there is a greater chance that a cloned baby would have genetic problems, mental retardation and deformities. Other cloned mammals have a history of serious birth defects
and health problems later in life.
Clonaid was founded by a cult religious organization called the Raelian sect that believes that humans were created by extraterrestrials.The leader of the Raelians
is former French journalist Claude Vorihon who claims to be a prophet called Rael. Vorihon has claimed that cloning is "just the first step" toward human immortality. He eventually
hopes to develop adult clones into which dying humans can transfer their brains.
Early on Friday, January 3, 2003, Clonaid announced that a second baby would be born in the next few days in Europe.
This is not the first time that someone has claimed to have produced a human child by cloning. In November 2002, Italian doctor Severino Antinori claimed to have a
patient that was 33 weeks pregnant with a cloned baby boy. Additionally, Antinori claimed in March 2001 that he would produce a human clone in 18 months. None of Antinori's claims were
ever verified.
Additional claims from Antinori - such as his claims of cloning many pigs and some primates - continue to be unsubstantiated to this day. There have been no scientific
papers published on his findings, and none of his experiments have been put up for scientific review.
The claims of the Clonaid appear to be similar in nature, considering that the child has not been shown yet and requests for a DNA test have been denied on the grounds
that it would identify the mother and lead to her persecution.
Scientists, politicians and clergy continue to debate the ethics of cloning, and the practice remains illegal in most countries.
Activity
Use the Internet to research the debate about a ban on human cloning. In your Science Journal, rite a science fiction story about human cloning and its
impact on society.
References
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