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medpundit |
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Sunday, April 07, 2002No one knows if the Italian has succeeded in creating a human clone or if he was just indulging in some braggadacio, but his acknowledged attempts to do so should give us pause. We already know that human manipulation of the genesis of life can have unintended consequences. There are more complications among babies born of in vitro fertilization, than occur in those conceived naturally, and cloning involves far more manipulation of eggs and genetic material than in vitro fertilization does. Furthermore, we don't yet know what the long-term effects of this manipulation may have over the course of a lifetime. When Dolly the sheep was cloned, her genetic material was the same age as her donor's , meaning she was chromosomally older than her chronological age. This could have extensive ramifications for a human clone. It could mean a higher incidence of early cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other diseases of old age in a cloned person. If you are born with thirty-year old chromosomes, are you going to have the health risks of a fifty year old when you are twenty? No one knows. It seems cruel to bring a life into this world knowing those possibilities exist, especially when there are other alternatives to treat infertility, including adoption. We are only now beginning to learn the effects of assisted reproduction on the offspring, both medically and psychologically. One can't help but suspect that the motive behind the Italian researcher's efforts is rooted in gaining glory and renown rather than altruism. He clearly could not have the best interests of his patients at heart to proceed with such an attempt. Scientific American published a review of cloning a few years ago that predicted just such an act by just such a man: “One would hope that such research will be done openly in the U.S., Canada, Europe or Japan, where established government agencies exist to provide careful oversight of the implications of the studies for human subjects. Less desirably, but more probably, it might happen in clandestine fashion in some offshore laboratory where a couple desperate for a child has put their hopes in the hands of a researcher seeking instant renown.” Well, the future is now. It's too early to tell if the Italian will be successful. Miscarriages are common in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and the clone may not be perfect enough to survive nature's process of elimination. There is no doubt, however, that he and others like him will try and try again until they achieve their goal, unless they are stopped. We know too little to fool around with life at this level. To think otherwise is sheer arrogance. posted by Sydney on 4/07/2002 01:03:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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