International Policy | |
Is Human Cloning Inevitable? |
Geneticists and other scientists who once deplored the prospect of human
cloning are reportedly changing their views. Less than a year ago, the lamb
called Dolly was introduced to the world -- the first animal cloned from a cell
taken from an adult. That event launched a debate largely dominated by anti-
cloning rhetoric. But cloning research is proceeding swiftly and even the terms of the ethical
debate are changing. Some examples of the change in attitudes:
Experts say the shift to acceptance of cloning follows the same shift pattern that occurred with regard to artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, the freezing of human embryos and surrogate motherhood. Cloning involves taking a cell from a living person, slipping it into an egg cell whose genetic material has been removed and allowing the genetic material of the adult cell to direct the development of a new embryo that is the identical twin of the animal or person who provided the initial cell. Source: Gina Kolata, "On Cloning Humans, 'Never' Turns Swiftly Into 'Why Not,'" New York Times, December 2, 1997. |