THIS WEEK'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CLONING OF AN ADULT SHEEP
IN SCOTLAND HAS LEAD TO FEARS THE TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE USED WITH 
HUMANS.  BUT THE CHIEF U-S MEDICAL RESEARCH OFFICIAL SAYS SUCH 
WORRIES SHOULD NOT  LEAD TO THE PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION 
PROHIBITING THE BIOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF SUCH RESEARCH.  

THE HEAD OF THE U-S GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF 
RESEARCH -- DR. HAROLD VARMUS -- SAYS HE CANNOT GUARANTEE SOME 
RENEGADE SCIENTIST MIGHT NOT TRY TO GENERATE CLONES OF ADULT 
HUMANS USING REFINEMENTS OF THE NEWLY REVEALED LABORATORY 
TECHNOLOGY.  BUT HE TOLD A U-S CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE 
EXAMINING HIS AGENCY'S 1998 BUDGET SUCH EXPERIMENTS ARE UNLIKELY.

         PUBLIC ATTENTION HAS BEEN FOCUSED INITIALLY ON THE MOST 
         SENSATIONAL ASPECTS OF THIS, AND THAT IS ONLY NATURAL.  
         IN MY VIEW, THIS MAKES INTERESTING MOVIES, BUT POOR 
         SCIENCE AND POOR ETHICS.

DR. VARMUS ASSURED LAWMAKERS THE GENERAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY IS 
NOT INTERESTED IN CLONING HUMANS BECAUSE OF THE ETHICAL ISSUES 
INVOLVED.  HE ASSERTED HIS SUPPORT FOR A 1994 RECOMMENDATION BY A
SPECIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH PANEL TO BAN HUMAN CLONING.

CONGRESSWOMAN NITA LOWEY ('LOW-EE) OF NEW YORK EXPRESSED HER 
CONCERN THE UN-ETHICAL USES OF THE TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE HARD TO 
RESTRAIN.

         THE FUTURE OF CLONING CAN LOOK LIKE OUR WORST NIGHTMARE 
         -- A WORLD WHERE FREAKISH EXPERIMENTS KNOW NO BOUNDS.  
         THERE IS CLEARLY A NEED FOR REGULATION, BUT REGULATION I
         HOPE THAT IS CONSISTENT BOTH WITH OUR HUMAN VALUES AND 
         OUR SUPPORT OF BIOMEDICAL ADVANCES.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH CHIEF AGREED, BUT WARNED 
AGAINST A RUSH TO LEGISLATION WHILE THE TECHNOLOGY IS NEW.  HE 
OUTLINED AREAS WHERE CLONING ANIMALS AND ANIMAL TISSUE WILL 
BENEFIT AGRICULTURE AND RESEARCH INTO HUMAN DISEASES.  DR. VARMUS
CAUTIONED CONGRESS NOT TO BE MISGUIDED BY FEARS OF MAKING COPIES 
OF PEOPLE.

         WE HAVE A NEW FINDING.  IT NEEDS TO BE ABSORBED AND 
         DISCUSSED.  I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT IN 
         REJECTING THE ONE ASPECT OF THESE EXPERIMENTS THAT ALL 
         OF US FIND REPUGNANT -- THAT IS, THE IDEA OF CLONING 
         ADULT HUMAN BEINGS -- THAT WE END UP WITH LEGISLATION, 
         BE IT STATE OR FEDERAL, THAT RESTRICTS THE EXPERIMENTAL 
         POSSIBILITIES THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL.

EARLIER THIS WEEK, PRESIDENT CLINTON SOUGHT GUIDANCE ON THIS 
QUESTION FROM AN ADVISORY PANEL ON BIOLOGICAL ETHICS HE FORMED 
LAST YEAR.  HE ORDERED IT TO REVIEW THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE 
SCOTTISH CLONING WORK AND TO SUGGEST POSSIBLE ACTIONS TO PREVENT 
ITS ABUSE.  

26-Feb-97
Source: Voice of America