Human reproductive cloning and genetic engineering are surely stuff of science fiction. And only science fiction right? Certainly, the reality of the Brave New World would never leap off the page and enter the real world.
Think again. In fact, in some scientific circles, a world where humans are cloned and genetically engineering is a foregone conclusion. There is a sentiment that just because it is possible to clone and genetically engineer humans, that it will happen. And indeed should happen.
I speak in particular about two announcements that point to the possibility that cloning and genetic engineering of humans may become a reality sooner than we think.
The first is this story from the Telegraph that states that UK may allow the genetic modification of human embryos:
Britain could become the first country to sanction the genetic alteration of human embryos, a step that a pressure group claims could pave the way to designer babies.A decade after the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the Government is opening the door to GM human embryos for research, according to Human Genetics Alert.
David King, its director, said: "In a world first, the Government has said it will allow scientists to begin developing the technology for genetic modification of human beings, although creation of actual GM babies will be prohibited for the moment. We believe the public will be horrified."
There is a need for a public debate on genetic alteration of embryos said HGA. It said that it could eventually lead to "germ-line" gene therapy, where DNA changes are passed down generations, and to genetic enhancement, where embryos are altered to boost intelligence or for cosmetic purposes....Although the White Paper says genetic alterations of eggs, sperm and embryos "should not be permitted for reproductive purposes" it adds that this is only "for the foreseeable future, and until such time as safety and efficacy are assured".
The paper says the Government "is not, however, convinced of the need to preclude research activities that would involve altering the genetic structure of the embryo".
This is the cry we hear all the time. Only for research, only for research, only for research. Do not worry, you uneducated masses, we only want to genetically modify a human embryo for research!
And how will the genetic modification take place? Well, one possibility is to insert an artificial chromosome during somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) process. SCNT is better known as therapeutic cloning and would create a cloned embryo. The argument is that genetic modification of embryos is acceptable because these embryos will never see the darkness of a uterus, only the light of the lab where they will be experimented on and then destroyed. Only for research, you understand.
We hear the same argument when scientists talk about using therapeutic cloning to create cloned embryos for embryonic stem cell research: "Therapeutic cloning will never lead to reproductive cloning because the embryos will never be implanted."
You may believe that argument until you read the following from a recent article in Nature, a prestigious scientific journal, that states that reproductive cloning is inevitable:
"In contrast, what has been universally deemed as unacceptable is the pursuit of human reproductive cloning - or the production of what some have called a delayed identical twin. Here, the two issues that have dominated the discussion have been dignity and safety. There is a consensus that dignity is not undermined if a human offspring is valued in its own right and not merely as a means to an end. But there is no consensus that we will eventually know enough about cloning for the risks of creating human clones to be so small as to be ethically acceptable.""The debate may seem to have been pre-empted by prompt prohibition. But as the science of epigenetics and of development inevitably progresses, those for whom cloning is the only means to bypass sterility or genetic disease, say, will increasingly demand its use. Unless there is some unknown fundamental biological obstacle, and given wholly positive ethical motivations, human reproductive cloning is an eventual certainty."
So much for the argument that we can pursue therapeutic cloning because reproductive cloning will never happen. Marry this tidbit with the intent for researchers to genetically modify human embryos in Britian and it is an omen of what is to come: a Brave New World that is no longer science fiction.
Hat Tip: Wesley J. Smith and Genetics and Health
I personaly think genetic cloneing is allot of rubbish and should not be takeing eney further as you are destroying the wonderful beautiful time of berth like the surprise of boy or girl or what he or she would look like and the fact and right to be individual and not to be in a flock of geneticly grown cattle for your entertainment and i think you should be ashamed of your work and i am standing up for the right for humans to have there on lifes to be made and to not be copyed down from another to another