A LOOK AT THIS PAST WEEK'S BREATHTAKING
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SCOTLAND, THAT SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE A
PERFECT GENETIC COPY OF AN ADULT SHEEP.
MEET DOLLY, A SEVEN-MONTH-OLD LAMB, BORN LAST JULY IN
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. THIS PAST WEEK, SHE BECAME A FOCAL
POINT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA -- THE SUBJECT OF
BANNER HEADLINES IN MAJOR NEWSPAPERS, COOPTING HEADS OF
STATE TO BE THE LEAD STORY ON TELEVISION AND RADIO
NEWSCASTS.
WHY SO MUCH ATTENTION FOR A FOUR-FOOTED, WOOLY MAMMAL?
ASK IAN WILMUT, THE MAN WHO -- IN A VERY REAL SENSE --
CREATED HER:
"WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE TAKEN A CELL FROM AN ADULT
ANIMAL AND USED IT TO PRODUCE A NEW LAMB. SO THIS
ANIMAL IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS A GENETICALLY-IDENTICAL
TWIN WOULD BE....."
....EXCEPT THAT IT'S SEVERAL YEARS YOUNGER THAN THE
FEMALE SHEEP, OR EWE, FROM WHICH IT WAS COPIED. DOCTOR
WILMUT IS A 52-YEAR-OLD EMBRYOLOGIST AT EDINBURGH'S
ROSLIN INSTITUTE. THAT'S WHERE DOLLY -- THE LAMB IN
QUESTION -- WAS CONCEIVED IN A GLASS DISH THROUGH A
PROCESS OF CELLULAR FUSION CALLED CLONING. BUT IT WAS
NOT THE USUAL PROCESS OF CONCEPTION, WITH A SPERM AND AN
EGG. DOLLY DOESN'T HAVE A MOTHER AND A FATHER IN THE
USUAL SENSE.
DOCTOR WILMUT AND HIS COLLEAGUES EXTRACTED A SINGLE CELL
FROM THE MAMMARY GLANDS OF AN ADULT SHEEP. AFTER SOME
PREPARATION, THIS TYPICAL, AVERAGE CELL WAS INSERTED
INTO A HOLLOWED-OUT EGG CELL FROM ANOTHER SHEEP -- AN
EGG CELL THAT EARLIER HAD HAD ITS OWN NUCLEUS REMOVED.
THE TWO CELLS FUSED TOGETHER INTO A SINGLE CELL, WHICH
HAD THE GENE MATERIAL, OR DNA, OF THE FIRST ADULT SHEEP.
AFTER SEVERAL CELL DIVISIONS, THE RESULTING EMBRYO WAS
IMPLANTED INTO THE WOMB OF YET ANOTHER SHEEP, WHERE IT
DEVELOPED INTO A HEALTHY BABY LAMB -- DOLLY -- A PERFECT
COPY OF THE ADULT ANIMAL FROM WHICH THE ORIGINAL BODY
CELL WAS TAKEN.
WHILE IT WAS A SHOCK TO THE WORLD AT LARGE, SOME
RESEARCHERS GOT AN EARLY EDGE ON THE NEWS. NEAL FIRST
IS CHAIRMAN OF REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN/MADISON:
"WE'D HEARD BEFORE THAT THEY HAD SOMETHING COMING
BECAUSE ONE OF MY STUDENTS WENT TO A MEETING IN JANUARY
AND THEY DISCUSSED IT A LITTLE BIT THEN. BUT I'M VERY
IMPRESSED WITH IT BECAUSE THOSE OF US THAT HAD BEEN
DOING THINGS LIKE DOING CLONING EXPERIMENTS WITH CATTLE
AND MADE CALVES FROM EMBRYONIC CELLS WERE VERY MUCH
UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT ADULT CELLS WOULD NOT BE
POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE CONSIDERED THEM DIFFERENTIATED AND
NOT 'TOTIPOTENT,' SO TO SPEAK, TO MAKE OTHER CELL
TYPES."
PROFESSOR FIRST AND HIS TEAM HAD EARLIER CLONED DAIRY
CATTLE -- USING CELLS FROM EMBRYOS, WHICH HAD NOT YET
ACHIEVED THE DEGREE OF SPECIALIZATION -- OR
'DIFFERENTIATION' -- FOUND IN CELLS OF A FULLY-FORMED
ANIMAL. USING A MAMMARY CELL -- OR ANY BODY CELL -- FROM
AN ADULT ANIMAL IS A TOUGHER CHALLENGE BECAUSE MOST OF
ITS GENES HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF. ONLY THOSE NEEDED FOR
ITS SPECIALIZED FUNCTION -- LIKE SKIN OR MUSCLE -- ARE
ACTIVE. BUILDING AN ENTIRE CREATURE FROM ONE ADULT
CELL, THEREFORE, REQUIRES REACTIVATING ALL THE GENES --
THE POSSIBILITY OF WHICH PROFESSOR FIRST WAS INITIALLY
SKEPTICAL ABOUT:
"I THINK WE WERE RATHER OF THE OPINION THAT
DIFFERENTIATION WAS A RATHER TERMINAL EVENT. NOW WE'VE
HAD HINTS IN SCIENCE THAT THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE CASE.
ONE OF THE HINTS CAME YEARS AGO AND EVEN UP TO THE
PRESENT WITH AMPHIBIANS -- FROGS -- AND THERE THERE WERE
A COUPLE OF GENES THAT ACTUALLY WERE TEASED INTO
ACTIVITY AND THE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE OFFSPRING GOT AS FAR
AS TADPOLES -- ADVANCED, LATE-STAGE TADPOLES. BUT THEY
NEVER GOT TO ADULTS. EVERYBODY ASSUMED THAT WAS BECAUSE
THEY COULDN'T COMPLETELY REPROGRAM THE CELLS TO DO WHAT
THEY WANTED THEM TO DO."
BUT THE SCOTTISH RESEARCHERS WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME THIS
BARRIER:
"IT WAS VERY ASTOUNDING THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET WHAT
WERE DIFFERENTIATED CELLS AND ADULT CELLS TO WORK IN A
NUCLEAR TRANSPLANTATION PROCEDURE AND TO MAKE THE
CLONES. IT'S A VERY GOOD BREAKTHROUGH IN SCIENCE, I
THINK."
SO HOW DID THEY DO THAT? THE SECRET WAS SLOWING DOWN
THE DIVISION OF THE TRANSPLANTED CELL FROM THE ADULT
SHEEP, SO THAT IT WOULD BE ABLE TO SYNCHRONIZE ITS
ACTIVITY WITH THE HOLLOWED-OUT EGG CELL WITH WHICH IT
WAS FUSED. THE ROSLIN INSTITUTE'S IAN WILMUT EXPLAINS:
"WHEN YOU TAKE TWO CELLS AND PUT THEM TOGETHER, IT'S
IMPORTANT THAT THEY'RE AT THE SAME STAGE OF THE CELL
CYCLE. IF YOU THINK THAT WHAT HAPPENS TO A CELL IS THAT
IT GROWS AND THEN DIVIDES, GROWS AND THEN DIVIDES, THIS
IS KNOWN AS THE CELL CYCLE. AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO FUSE
TWO CELLS TOGETHER, THEY HAVE TO BE AT A COMPATIBLE SET
OF STAGES.
"THE STAGE THAT WE USED FOR THE FIRST TIME -- THIS IS
THE INVENTIVE STEP -- WAS TO USE A CELL WHICH HAD BEEN
MADE DORMANT -- ITS TECHNICAL NAME IS 'QUIESCENT,' OR
'G-ZERO' -- AND WE THINK THAT IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS THAT
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN DEVELOPMENT IN A WAY THAT
NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE BEFORE."
SO SEVEN MONTHS AFTER HER BIRTH, DOLLY -- TO PARAPHRASE
THE BROADWAY MUSICAL OF THE SAME NAME -- IS "LOOKING
SWELL." BUT WHILE SHE MAY BE DRAWING RAVE REVIEWS, MANY
WONDER ABOUT THE MORAL IMPLICATIONS OF APPLYING THE SAME
COPYING -- OR CLONING -- PROCEDURE TO HUMANS. RONALD
MUNSON IS A MEDICAL ETHICIST FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF
MISSOURI:
"WE CAN IMAGINE THE SORT OF WORLD IN WHICH WE, FOR
EXAMPLE, DECIDE TO HAVE CLONES OF OURSELVES OR OF OUR
SPOUSES OR OF OUR CHILDREN. WE CAN IMAGINE TIMES IN
WHICH WE AUCTION OFF FAVORED DNA FOR REPLICATION OF
PEOPLE WE ADMIRE FOR THEIR MUSICAL ABILITY, FOR THEIR
INTELLIGENCE OR FOR THEIR SPORTS ABILITIES, CAN BE
COPIED AS MANY TIMES AS WE WOULD LIKE."
CLONING PEOPLE HAS LONG BEEN THE SUBJECT OF SUSPENSE
FICTION, INCLUDING IRA LEVIN'S THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL IN
WHICH FANATICAL EX-NAZIS ATTEMPTED TO DUPLICATE IN A
GROUP OF CHILDREN THEIR LONG-DEAD LEADER. SOME 20 YEARS
AGO, A BOOK PURPORTING TO BE FACTUAL DETAILED WHAT ITS
AUTHOR SAID WERE EFFORTS BY AN ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRE TO
CLONE HIMSELF. THE BOOK, NEEDLESS TO SAY, WAS A HOAX.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN'S NEAL FIRST SAYS THAT,
WHILE THE LAMB CLONING IS AN IMPRESSIVE SCIENTIFIC
ACCOMPLISHMENT, A LOT MORE WORK MUST BE DONE BEFORE
ANYONE COULD EVEN THINK OF MAKING COPIES OF PEOPLE.
EVEN CLONING A SHEEP TOOK IAN WILMUT AND HIS TEAM
HUNDREDS OF REPORTED TRIES BEFORE SUCCESS WAS ACHIEVED
IN THE BIRTH OF DOLLY. NEVERTHELESS, THE CLONING OF A
MAMMAL REPRESENTS AN IMMENSE LEAP FROM WHAT PREVIOUSLY
HAD BEEN THOUGHT POSSIBLE. SO, AS SOME MEDICAL
ETHICISTS ARE SAYING, WE'D BETTER BRACE OURSELVES FOR AN
EVENTUAL EFFORT AT HUMAN CLONING:
"ONE OF THE THINGS I AM CONFIDENT OF IS THAT, SOMEWHERE,
SOME PLACE, SOMEBODY WILL TRY IT. AND I THINK THAT WHAT
WE WANT TO DO IS WE PROBABLY CAN'T GUARD AGAINST IT ALL,
BUT YOU CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A SITUATION WHERE
THE SOCIETY HAS SORT OF COME TO SOME UNDERSTANDING THAT
IT'S WILLING TO LIVE WITH ABOUT WHAT IT'S GOING TO
PERMIT AND NOT PERMIT."
PATRICIA KING, A PROFESSOR OF LAW AND BIOETHICS AT THE
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER IN WASHINGTON, DC. SHE
SAYS THAT, WHILE THE SCOTTISH SUCCESS HAS CAUGHT
EVERYONE BY SURPRISE, THERE'S STILL A CHANCE TO THINK
THROUGH THE ISSUE OF POTENTIAL HUMAN CLONING, AND FOR
SOCIETY TO FORMULATE A COHERENT RESPONSE:
"THE REASON THAT I THINK THAT'S LIKELY IS BECAUSE THEY
HAVE A LOT OF FAILURES IN THE WORK IN SCOTLAND. THEY'VE
ONLY DONE IT SO FAR IN LAMBS AND SHEEP. THEY WANT TO
SEE -- AND WE ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE -- IF THIS ACTUALLY
WORKS IN OTHER LARGE ANIMALS. MAYBE WE WILL ENCOUNTER
DIFFICULTIES THAT WE HADN'T ANTICIPATED YET.
"SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE HAVE SOME TIME BEFORE WE HAVE
TO THINK ABOUT THE HUMAN APPLICATIONS. BUT NOW THAT WE
KNOW IT IS FEASIBLE, IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE TO THINK
ABOUT HUMAN APPLICATIONS. WE'VE GOT TO START THINKING
ABOUT WHETHER WE EVER WANT TO CROSS INTO THAT UNDEFINED
TERRITORY."
SO FAR, THE SCIENTISTS MOST CLOSELY INVOLVED IN ANIMAL
CLONING EFFORTS HAVE CLEARLY DRAWN THE LINE, SAYING THEY
DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE CLONING TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO
HUMANS. IAN WILMUT:
"MOST OF US, IF NOT EVERYBODY, WOULD FIND IT ETHICALLY
COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE, THAT WE SHOULD ENSURE THAT
THERE IS LEGISLATION IN PLACE TO SEE THAT IT DOESN'T
HAPPEN. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS
INSTITUTE AND COMPANY TOGETHER WERE TRYING TO DO BEFORE
THIS STORY WAS BROKEN PREMATURELY WAS TO BRIEF NOT ONLY
JOURNALISTS LIKE YOURSELVES, BUT ALSO SCIENTISTS AROUND
THE WORLD AND ETHICAL AUTHORITIES AROUND THE WORLD WITH
THE HOPE OF PROMOTING A SERIOUS, INFORMED DISCUSSION.
BECAUSE WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS
THAT THERE IS LEGISLATION EFFECTIVELY IN PLACE TO
PROHIBIT THE MISUSE -- I THINK ACTUALLY THERE IS...SUCH
LEGISLATION IN PLACE IN BRITAIN ALREADY. BUT TO
PROHIBIT THE MISUSE WHILE ALLOWING THE BENEFICIAL USES
-- BECAUSE WE CLEARLY SEE BOTH IN THE SAME WAY AS
EVERYBODY ELSE."
BENEFICIAL USES, IN PROFESSOR WILMUT'S VIEW, INCLUDE
ANIMAL CLONING TO PROMOTE EFFICIENT LIVESTOCK BREEDING,
AS WELL AS THE PRODUCTION IN ANIMALS OF
GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED HUMAN PROTEINS. THIS COULD BE
DONE BY INSERTING GENES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HUMAN
HORMONES INTO THE SAME MAMMARY GLAND CELL THAT PROFESSOR
WILMUT USED TO CLONE HIS SHEEP. THE HORMONES COULD THEN
BE HARVESTED FROM THE RESULTING FEMALE SHEEP'S MILK.
A STEP BEYOND THAT MIGHT INVOLVE CLONING OF SHEEP THAT
CAN GROW HUMAN CELLS FOR IMPLANTATION INTO PATIENTS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN'S NEAL FIRST:
"SO EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE MIGHT NOT CLONE HUMANS, THERE
MIGHT BE VALUE IN HAVING CELL LINES THAT ARE MADE FROM A
PROCESS A LITTLE LIKE THIS THAT HE'S USED. THESE WOULD
BE CELL LINES THAT MIGHT MULTIPLY AND GIVE YOU
PANCREATIC CELLS, OR MIGHT GIVE YOU CELLS THAT WOULD BE
USEFUL FROM THE BRAIN IN CASE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE SO
THAT PEOPLE DON'T THINK ABOUT USING FETAL TISSUE. ...A
DEFECTIVE LIVER MIGHT BE REPLACED WITH A POPULATION OF
CELLS THAT ARE NORMAL LIVER CELLS THAT MIGHT GROW IN THE
LIVER."
IT IS THESE POTENTIAL BENEFITS THAT PROMPT MANY
BIOETHICISTS TO TAKE A WAIT-AND-SEE APPROACH IN
EVALUATING CLONING TECHNOLOGY. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
LAW CENTER'S PATRICIA KING:
"I THINK THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF HUMAN BEINGS -- AND
PEOPLE ARE FAIRLY VOCAL ABOUT THIS -- WHO THINK THAT YOU
SHOULD NOT THINK ABOUT DOING THE PROCEDURE IN HUMANS.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SAYING WAIT AND
LET US SEE WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ARE, BECAUSE
THE HUMAN IS A WHOLE ENTITY, BUT THERE ARE HUMAN CELLS,
THERE ARE HUMAN ORGANS. MAYBE THIS TECHNIQUE WILL BE
USEFUL IN SOME RESPECTS WITH OTHER HUMAN PARTS, AND WE
CAN'T ANTICIPATE THAT.....
"I THINK THAT WE WILL BE SPLIT AS A SOCIETY ABOUT
WHETHER TO CROSS OVER INTO THIS NEW TERRITORY. AND I
THINK THAT THE DEBATE WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT THAN WE
THINK. I THINK MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE WHAT WE WOULD
CALL RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS TO CREATING HUMANS IN THIS
WAY, BUT WE DON'T LIKE TO INTRODUCE RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS
INTO THE PUBLIC DEBATE. THERE ARE SECULAR WAYS OF
EXPRESSING THIS DISCOMFORT ABOUT 'MANUFACTURING' OR
'CREATING' OR SOMEHOW MAKING HUMANS LIKE PRODUCTS THAT
MANY PEOPLE WILL FIND OBJECTIONABLE, AND THEY WILL NOT
WANT TO SEE HUMANS THAT ARE EXACT GENETIC REPLICAS OF
ADULT HUMANS."
ETHICAL OBJECTIONS TO CLONING WHOLE HUMANS TAKE MANY
FORMS -- FROM THE "HUNDRED HITLERS" SCENARIO POSED BY
THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL TO THE PROSPECT OF A MAD DICTATOR
CLONING SQUADRONS OF MARGINALLY-INTELLIGENT, COMPLIANT
WORKERS FOR UNPLEASANT OR HAZARDOUS DUTY. ALDOUS HUXLEY
ENVISIONED SIMILAR PROSPECTS IN BRAVE NEW WORLD. BUT TO
BIOETHICIST ALBERT JONSEN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, THESE NIGHTMARE VISIONS ARE A
DIVERSION FROM THE MAIN ISSUE:
"MY PROBLEM WITH HUMAN CLONING IS SOMEWHAT MORE MODEST.
AND THAT IS, IF WE HAD HUMAN CLONES AMONG US, WE'D HAVE
TO THINK A LOT ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE. I GAVE A CLASS
YESTERDAY TO A BUNCH OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS AT THE
UNIVERSITY WHO WANTED ME TO COME AND TALK ABOUT GENETIC
ENGINEERING. AND I ASKED THE STUDENTS WHAT THEY THOUGHT
THE PROBLEMS MIGHT BE. AND THEY COME UP WITH SOME
INTERESTING STUFF. BUT ONE OF THEM BROUGHT UP THIS
QUESTION: HE SAID: 'IF SOMEONE CLONED ME, WOULDN'T I OWN
THE CLONE? IT WOULD BE A PART OF ME THAT MADE IT COME
INTO BEING, AND THEREFORE WOULDN'T I HAVE PROPERTY
RIGHTS OVER IT?'
"THAT'S A DAMN GOOD QUESTION. IF YOU HAD CLONES AROUND,
THAT CLEARLY IS A QUESTION THAT WE'D HAVE TO SETTLE."
CURRENTLY, LAWS IN BRITAIN AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES
PROHIBIT HUMAN CLONING EXPERIMENTS. HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES, FEDERAL FUNDS CANNOT BE USED FOR HUMAN EMBRYO
RESEARCH. BUT AS THE GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER'S
PATRICIA KING EXPLAINS, U.S. FEDERAL LAW IS SILENT ON
PRIVATELY-FUNDED RESEARCH:
"THERE ARE NO FEDERAL RULES OR LAWS OR REGULATIONS THAT
WOULD PROHIBIT PRIVATE RESEARCH. SOME STATES DO HAVE
LAWS THAT PROHIBIT RESEARCH ON EMBRYOS THAT WOULD AFFECT
PRIVATELY-FUNDED RESEARCH. BUT IN THE MAIN WE ARE AN
UNREGULATED SOCIETY WITH RESPECT TO THIS ISSUE. AND IT
IS REALLY QUITE A DILEMMA BECAUSE AT LEAST THE ENGLISH
HAVE BOTH A PROCESS AND SUBSTANTIVE RULES THAT ARE IN
PLACE TO HELP THEM GET THROUGH THIS NEXT PERIOD. WE
HAVE NOTHING, AND THAT MEANS THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO THINK QUICKLY.
"PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS INDEED DIRECTED HIS BIOETHICS
COMMITTEE TO REPORT BACK TO HIM IN 90 DAYS WITH RESPECT
TO WHAT THE ISSUES ARE -- WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE
SHOULD CONSIDER IN THIS AREA OF CLONING SO THAT WE CAN
START TO THINK ABOUT REASONABLE WAYS TO REGULATE IT, AND
MAYBE PROHIBIT SOME ASPECTS OF IT OR TO SHAPE THE
DIRECTION IN WHICH YOU WANT TO GO."
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY EXPRESSED CONCERNS
THAT WORRIES ABOUT POTENTIAL HUMAN CLONING MIGHT RESULT
IN "A RUSH TO REGULATE" THAT CUTS OFF ALL CLONING
RESEARCH -- EVEN THAT INVOLVING ANIMALS WHICH MIGHT HAVE
BENEFITS IN AGRICULTURE AND MEDICINE. /// OPT /// IN
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE U.S. CONGRESS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, DOCTOR HAROLD VARMUS, PUT
IT THIS WAY:
"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."
PROFESSOR KING SAYS PRECEDENT DOES EXIST FOR CALM,
EFFECTIVE REGULATION OF TECHNOLOGIES ONCE REGARDED AS
CONTROVERSIAL. SHE CITES THE EXAMPLE OF GENETIC
ENGINEERING -- WHICH ONCE EVOKED FEAR BUT WHICH NOW IS
ROUTINE:
"WHEN THE RECOMBINANT DNA CONTROVERSY BROKE,
WE ESTABLISHED A SPECIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT NIH
(NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH), WHICH IS STILL IN
EXISTENCE, THAT ACTUALLY MONITORED AND LOOKED AT EVERY
PROTOCOL IN THE AREA TO REALLY TRY TO KEEP TIGHT CHECK
ON WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO WE NEED BOTH THE PROCESS AND
SOME SUBSTANTIVE GUIDELINES. BUT FIRST WE JUST HAVE TO
SIT AND STUDY AND FIGURE OUT WHAT ALL THE IMPLICATIONS
ARE."
WHILE NO ONE CAN PREDICT EXACTLY WHAT THE PRESIDENT'S
BIOETHICS ADVISORY COMMISSION WILL RECOMMEND, THE
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON'S ALBERT JONSEN BELIEVES THAT
SOME FEDERAL RESTRICTIONS ON HUMAN CLONING RESEARCH ARE
LIKELY -- AT LEAST FOR NOW. A MAJOR CONCERN, IN HIS VIEW
-- WHAT HAPPENS IF A HUMAN CLONING EXPERIMENT GOES AWRY
AND PRODUCES A DEFORMED RESULT?
"WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THESE THINGS? ARE THEY HUMAN? ARE
THEY NOT HUMAN? WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERING A
SUCCESS OR A FAILURE? SO YOU GET AN IMPLANT, AND THE
IMPLANT GROWS UP WITH AN EYE IN THE MIDDLE OF ITS
FOREHEAD. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT? IT LOOKS OTHERWISE
LIKE A HUMAN BABY. IT'S GENETICALLY IDENTICAL BUT SOME
OF THE PROCESS DIDN'T WORK OUT RIGHT. SO YOU THROW IT
OUT, OR YOU DON'T THROW IT OUT, YOU KEEP IT. WHAT DO
YOU DO WITH IT?
"SO THE PROTOCOLS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL
THOSE QUESTIONS EVEN TO GET THIS RESEARCH OFF THE
GROUND. AND I THINK THE COMMISSION WOULD CLEARLY
RECOGNIZE THAT AND SAY THAT HUMAN SUBJECTS COMMITTEES BE
STRONGLY ADVISED NOT TO APPROVE RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN
CLONING."
WE ASKED GEORGETOWN LAW PROFESSOR PATRICIA KING -- GIVEN
ALL THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED, IS THERE ANY
CIRCUMSTANCE UNDER WHICH CLONING A HUMAN BEING COULD BE
ETHICALLY JUSTIFIED?
"I'VE WRACKED MY BRAINS AND I'VE READ SOME OF THE
SUGGESTIONS IN THE PAPERS BY OTHERS, AND I HAVEN'T READ
ANYTHING YET OR IMAGINED ANYTHING THAT WOULD JUSTIFY TO
ME CREATING A REPLICA -- THAT'S A MUCH MORE APPROPRIATE
TERM THAN TWIN OR CLONING. /// OPT /// WE'RE REALLY
TALKING REPLICAS AND WE'RE NOT REALLY TALKING CREATION
HERE IN THE OLD FASHIONED SENSE OF WHAT CREATION MEANT.
"AND THE IDEA OF REPLACING ONE CHILD WITH ANOTHER CHILD
OR HELPING COUPLES TO HAVE CHILDREN BY USING A TECHNIQUE
LIKE THIS ONE JUST DON'T SEEM COMPELLING TO ME IN TERMS
OF RISKING GOING DOWN THIS ROAD. I KNOW OTHERS FEEL
DIFFERENTLY, BUT THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO HAVE A CHILD OR
TO RAISE A CHILD, AND I JUST HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING THAT
WORKS YET. SO I GUESS I'M ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO
REACTS IN THE FOLLOWING WAY, AND THAT IS,
/// UNTIL YOU SHOW ME SOMETHING THAT REALLY HAS
COMPELLING URGENCY -- AND MAYBE THERE WILL BE SOMETHING
DOWN THE ROAD, I DON'T KNOW -- I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD
CROSS THIS BARRIER YET."
28-Feb-97