Although political victories should never be taken for granted, us Brits might be feeling a bit pleased with ourselves lately for seemingly sorting out the legal issues surrounding human cloning in the UK. But for our American readers, the political battle might just be about to start.
This week's BioNews reports on recent hearings at a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee, where, amongst more credible witnesses, self-confessed cloning enthusiasts Rael (leader of the Raelian cult) and Panayiotis Zavos (partner to Italian Severino Antinori) gave their testimonies. A federal ban on reproductive cloning may be forthcoming - something which President Bush supports.
Zavos' arrival on the reproductive cloning scene, particularly, has prompted the scientific community to sit up and take notice. He is probably the first half-credible scientist to make public his intention to start reproductive cloning in humans in the near future. Zavos seems defiant in the face of intense criticism from his peers, most of whom consider human cloning at this time to be fraught with dangers for the clones.
Coinciding with the committee hearings, the American journal Science published a short article by Rudolf Jaenisch and Ian Wilmut, spelling out those dangers. Not only is animal cloning associated with drastic defects in clones such as respiratory distress, circulatory problems, immune system dysfunction and kidney and brain malformation. But it is also responsible for more subtle long-term genetic changes, probably caused by the nuclear transfer technique which brings about the cloned embryos.
So reproductive cloning in humans is not safe. But will it always be that way? And if one day it does become safe enough to try in humans, will president Bush be more sympathetic? Probably not. Safety matters enormously - especially for prospective patients - but ultimately it won't win or lose the political battle. Only an open and honest debate on the rights and wrongs of bringing cloned babies into the world will suffice.
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