Valkyrie
11th April 2002, 00:05
How fucked up is it gonna get yet?
Speculation Grows Over 'Clone Pregnancy'
A vague report about a pregnancy in a prominent Italian physician's cloning project has triggered a flood of criticism as well as skepticism worldwide. The fertility specialist has pledged to use the cloning technology to help infertile couples, but what he has done precisely was unknown. Do you think human cloning will occur regardless of restrictions?
The Dubai-based English-language Gulf News quoted Dr. Severino Antinori as saying at a genetic engineering conference in Abu Dhabi that his project, which he didn't specify, has reached "a very advanced stage" and that one woman in his program is eight weeks pregnant. He was quoted as saying 5,000 couples have joined his project.
Perhaps best known for helping Rosanna della Corte give birth at age 63, Dr. Antinori has pledged repeatedly with his colleague, Dr, Panos Zavos at the Andrology Institute of America in Lexington, Kentucky, to apply cloning technology to help infertile couples help children.
While some critics have conjured up the image of machine-produced human clones, Dr. Antinori has said the technology is available to clone human embryos that would grow inside a natural womb. Still, he reportedly sidesteps questions about what technique he is using, or plans to use, in cloning human embryos.
Scientists researching stem cells also fear reproductive cloning projects by rogue scientists like Dr. Antinori and the Canadian-based Raelian religious cult would ultimately lead to legal restrictions that would hinder studies on harvesting and manipulating the mater cells.
Other critics also warn animal cloning has demonstrated the high rate of failed experiments that have ended in stillbirth or deformity. Scientists also doubt Dr. Antinori's claim that closed human embryos can be screened sufficiently to prevent diseases or physical defects.
The Daily Telegraph, of London, reported Sunday that Dr. Antinori claimed to have used the cloning technology to help an unidentified wealthy Arab have a son. The work was purportedly being done "in an Islamic country," the paper quoted a friend of Dr. Antinori as saying.
The Telegraph quoted Giancarlo Calzolari, the friend who is a science writer at Il Tempo newspaper, as saying that he was told Dr. Antinori has "limitless supply of money" for his project and that the pregnancy was real. The physician reportedly dodged questions about the unidentified father, saying only that the woman was carrying "a clone of an important, wealthy personality."
Richard Gardner, chairman of U.K. Royal Society's working group on therapeutic cloning, told New Scientist that such a cloning pregnancy would be "grossly irresponsible given the current state of knowledge, even aside from any ethical issues."
"All evidence indicates that most clones die early -- the lucky ones -- and the rare survivors may have serious abnormalities which may become apparent only later," Rudolf Jaenisch, a cloning expert at M.I.T., told the magazine. "Antinori seems to use humans as Guinea pigs to advance his questionable agenda. He needs to be stopped."
Despite the criticism and skepticism, it was still unclear what type of cloning technology Dr. Antinori used, if any, or if the fetus the woman is reportedly carrying was indeed from a cloned embryo.
Speculation Grows Over 'Clone Pregnancy'
A vague report about a pregnancy in a prominent Italian physician's cloning project has triggered a flood of criticism as well as skepticism worldwide. The fertility specialist has pledged to use the cloning technology to help infertile couples, but what he has done precisely was unknown. Do you think human cloning will occur regardless of restrictions?
The Dubai-based English-language Gulf News quoted Dr. Severino Antinori as saying at a genetic engineering conference in Abu Dhabi that his project, which he didn't specify, has reached "a very advanced stage" and that one woman in his program is eight weeks pregnant. He was quoted as saying 5,000 couples have joined his project.
Perhaps best known for helping Rosanna della Corte give birth at age 63, Dr. Antinori has pledged repeatedly with his colleague, Dr, Panos Zavos at the Andrology Institute of America in Lexington, Kentucky, to apply cloning technology to help infertile couples help children.
While some critics have conjured up the image of machine-produced human clones, Dr. Antinori has said the technology is available to clone human embryos that would grow inside a natural womb. Still, he reportedly sidesteps questions about what technique he is using, or plans to use, in cloning human embryos.
Scientists researching stem cells also fear reproductive cloning projects by rogue scientists like Dr. Antinori and the Canadian-based Raelian religious cult would ultimately lead to legal restrictions that would hinder studies on harvesting and manipulating the mater cells.
Other critics also warn animal cloning has demonstrated the high rate of failed experiments that have ended in stillbirth or deformity. Scientists also doubt Dr. Antinori's claim that closed human embryos can be screened sufficiently to prevent diseases or physical defects.
The Daily Telegraph, of London, reported Sunday that Dr. Antinori claimed to have used the cloning technology to help an unidentified wealthy Arab have a son. The work was purportedly being done "in an Islamic country," the paper quoted a friend of Dr. Antinori as saying.
The Telegraph quoted Giancarlo Calzolari, the friend who is a science writer at Il Tempo newspaper, as saying that he was told Dr. Antinori has "limitless supply of money" for his project and that the pregnancy was real. The physician reportedly dodged questions about the unidentified father, saying only that the woman was carrying "a clone of an important, wealthy personality."
Richard Gardner, chairman of U.K. Royal Society's working group on therapeutic cloning, told New Scientist that such a cloning pregnancy would be "grossly irresponsible given the current state of knowledge, even aside from any ethical issues."
"All evidence indicates that most clones die early -- the lucky ones -- and the rare survivors may have serious abnormalities which may become apparent only later," Rudolf Jaenisch, a cloning expert at M.I.T., told the magazine. "Antinori seems to use humans as Guinea pigs to advance his questionable agenda. He needs to be stopped."
Despite the criticism and skepticism, it was still unclear what type of cloning technology Dr. Antinori used, if any, or if the fetus the woman is reportedly carrying was indeed from a cloned embryo.