Cloning film publicity sparks controversy

A new Hollywood science fiction thriller about human cloning looks set to reignite the debate over the use of SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer ), the technology used to create Dolly the sheep. 'Godsend', starring Robert de Niro as fertility specialist Richard Wells, opens in US cinemas on 30 April. But a fake website promoting the activities of the 'Godsend Institute' has already attracted criticism, with claims that it will add to the confusion over 'therapeutic cloning' at a crucial time in the embryo stem cell debate. The Godsend Institute site, which bears the tag line 'Using life to create life', offers bereaved parents the chance to clone deceased children.

The film tells the story of a couple seeking to replace their dead eight-year old son with a genetically identical clone. Dr Richard Wells, the specialist treating them, is described on the website as 'one of the true visionaries in the field of fertility', and 'the top genetic engineering researcher in the United States'. The biography goes on to claim that Dr Wells' groundbreaking studies have been published in Science, The Lancet and the Journal of the American Medical Association. The website also feature testimonials from satisfied 'customers', including one who says: 'If you've lost a child, you owe it to yourself to at least call'. The spoof site does not mention the film, although a box on the home page entitled 'Do it yourself eligibility testing' does link to the real website for the film.

The company behind Godsend, Lions Gate Films, say that they 'assume people are intelligent enough to know that this is not real', although an online anti-Godsend 'petition' has attracted messages from many who apparently believe the institute is genuine. And the institute's phone number, published on the website under 'Contact Us', has already received thousands of calls. David Magnus, co-director of the Stanford Center for Bioethics at the Stanford University Medical Center, wonders how people who have lost children will feel about the publicity. 'The studio may regret this if grieving parents get hurt', he said.

Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate, says the fake site has received hundreds of thousands of hits, plus hundreds of phone calls and emails to the 'Godsend Institute' itself. He calls the project 'a marketing mousetrap', and says that as far as he knows, none of the calls came from distraught parents looking to clone a child, adding that most people eventually figure out the hoax.