Controversy that began with a sheep named Dolly in 1997 has moved its focus to two babies from a company called Clonaid. Cloning has once again been thrust into the limelight by the religious group behind Clonaid, the Raelians, which refuses to provide proof of its two supposed human clones.
| Science: The building blocks of all life forms | |||
| DNA is the series of information put together in a particular order to create cells. While each individual's DNA strands are unique, they are all shaped as a double-helix. Scientists James Watson and Francis |  | ||
| Crick discovered the shape in the 1950s. Lawyers have used DNA as evidence for 15 years. Animal DNA is not as widely tested as that of humans; however, the process is conducted the same way. | |||
| Religion: Evolving generations | |||
| Rael, of the Raelian Movement, founded Clonaid, the company claiming to have cloned two baby girls. Raelians believe humans are cloned from a group of 4-foot, green space |
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| years ago.The Las Vegas-based company is now under the control of Brigite Boisslier, who is in charge of the cloning project. The company also does research in creating stem cells and an embryonic cell fusion system. | |||
| . | |||
| Ethics: Religion vs. technology Most religious sects, including Roman Catholics, are against cloning because they say it degrades the value of human life. Former President Clinton's National Bioethics Advisory Commission cites six areas of concern about human cloning. However, advocates say cloning provides another option for couples who cannot have children and do not want to adopt or undergo expensive medical procedures | |||
| Laws: Current Indiana legislation Indiana Senate Bill 138 prohibits the practice of cloning, citing that it is against public policy. This bill also prohibits the use of state and government funds for cloning research, and government employees cannot participate in cloning-related activities. Any known participation in the following activities, as well as knowing of or participating in the sale of human ovum, zygotes, embryos or fetuses is a Class C felony. | |||
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Individuality: How are we unique? The most common form of identification is fingerprinting, which law enforcement has used for years. Handprints and hand geometry are also popular because each person's hands have different lengths, widths and thicknesses, as well as different ridge patterns. Retinas are one of the most foolproof identification methods, but they can be difficult to distinguish because of their location behind the pupil and their sensitivity to damage. Other identification methods used include voice, face, handwritten signature, keystrokes, dynamics, wrist veins, ear shape, body odor and, of course, DNA. | |||
Science has proved that a baby with an identical genetic makeup to another living being can be made. But more than just scientific possibilities come into play when considering the reality of human cloning. Ethics and the religion behind the Clonaid company have also become factors.
THE SCIENCE
While the knowledge of how to clone a human does exist, the chances of successfully creating a human clone are still unlikely, a Ball State biology professor said.
"I would need to see the testing data to see if it really happened," said Claire Chatot, associate professor of biology, about claims by the Clonaid company.
Cloning a human does not differ much from cloning any other type of mammal, Chatot said. Humans and other mammals have very similar DNA.
When scientists ann-ounced they had successfully cloned a sheep in 1997, they basically found a way to clone all mammals, including humans, Chatot said.
"If you look at the similarities between different mammals, the DNA isn't that different," Chatot said.
But cloning isn't as simple as figuring out how to duplicate a DNA pattern.
"Just looking at the animal models that have been used for cloning - they got one successful baby out of 300 tries," Chatot said.
The science of cloning has yet to be perfected, Chatot said. Scientists do know that a female egg is needed and the DNA from that egg must be removed. Then, Chatot said, a cell from what is to be cloned can be combined with the egg in one of two ways. One way is to take the nucleus of the cell and inject it into the egg. The other method is to fuse the cell and egg together with an electric current.
By removing the DNA from an egg and injecting it into a cell from a living being, a clone can be produced. The clone has the same genes as the donor of the cell. Instead of getting 23 chromosomes from the egg and 23 chromosomes from a sperm cell, the donor cell provides all 46 chromosomes that make a human. These 46 chromosomes are shared with the donor of the cell, causing the embryo to have the same genetic makeup as the cell donor.
But once the egg and cell have been combined, the rest is left to nature, Chatot said. The combined cell and egg form an embryo, as in normal human reproduction. As the embryo grows, restrictions are placed on the DNA, which causes different genes to grow into different organs of the body, Chatot said.
The main problem scientists are faced with when studying human cloning is the amount of materials available. Plenty of animals on which to test are available, Chatot said, but the lack of human female egg donors keeps the study of human cloning from developing.
THE ETHICS
Science isn't the only factor that plays into the possibility of cloning a human. Risks associated with the science of cloning a human and the idea of duplicating an already living person bring forth many ethical issues, as well, said David Concepcion, assistant professor of philosophy.
Concepcion pointed out two schools of thought on the ethical issues associated with cloning. One school of thought comes from former President Clinton's National Bioethics Advisory Commission. The other comes from Leon Kass, who now heads up President Bush's Council on Bioethics.
Clinton's NBAC considered six areas of ethical concern associated with human cloning: safety; harm to individuality; threats to the family; threats to social values like love, nurturing, loyalty and respect; treating life as a commodity and "improving" offspring.
"It is probably not too good of an idea to (clone humans) now, even though there is no intrinsic moral reason for not doing it," Concepcion said, summing up Clinton's NBAC considerations on the ethical issues to cloning humans.
Kass holds that cloning would distort the cloned person's sense of individuality and social identity, would transform procreation into manufacture of children into commodities and, finally, would encourage parents to regard children as property.
"(Cloning) is intrinsically unethical and therefore should be banned," Concepcion said about the Kass argument.
Concepcion said that, ethically, a person would need a good reason to have a clone made because of scientific risks and potential dangers to a cloned human and because of the lack of comfort the general population has with the idea.
Most people feel uncomfortable with the idea of cloning because they associate it with attempts to improve the human race, discrimination and the concept of "playing God," Concepcion said.
"People like there to be some aspect of luck in what genes get into the future," Concepcion said. "We need diversity."
The Raelians, a religious group behind claims of the first cloned human, believe that cloning somehow leads to immortality. Concepcion said this belief does not qualify as a good ethical reason to have a clone made.
THE RELIGION
Closely tied into the ethics of cloning a human are the beliefs held by religious groups about the issue.
Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, who heads the National Council of Churches' new project studying biological technologies, knows of no faith besides the Raelians that advocates producing genetic clones, according to Associated Press reports.
The Raelians believe that "life on Earth is not the result of random evolution, nor the work of a supernatural 'God,'" the religion's Web site said. "It is a deliberate creation, using DNA, by a scientifically-advanced people who made human beings literally in their image."
The Raelian religion formed after a "visitor from another planet" visited a French journalist, according to the Web site. The journalist, now known as Rael, has placed cloning humans at the heart of his religion. The group currently claims about 55,000 followers.
While Canada granted religious status to the group during the 1990s, religious studies professor Julia Corbett said she doesn't necessarily consider the Raelians a religion.
"I wouldn't call it a religion, but they appear to be trying to put themselves in the context of a religion," Corbett said.
Corbett said she would refrain from calling the group a cult because the word has become "emotionally charged" in recent years. But she said the Raelian movement does exhibit many similarities to more widespread faiths.
Namely, Corbett said, to establish a religion a leader needs to have a compelling claim to draw a number of followers. The group also needs to have a direction toward what it considers holy or spiritual.
What separates the widespread faiths from the Raelian movement is the endurance to last a long time, Corbett said. While religions such as Christianity and Islam have survived with many followers for years, Corbett said she isn't yet convinced the Raelians will last for as long as other faiths.
"With (Rael), he's providing 'scientific explanation' and that appeals to people," Corbett said. "People who claim to have experienced a revelation come along often, but most of them we don't hear about."
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