Human cloning? | Dr Peter Saunders

'A milestone in scientific depravity'. This was one commentator's reaction to the November 25 announcement that American scientists had produced a cloned human embryo.

Advanced Cell Technology, the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company responsible, were quick to respond that their intention was 'not to create cloned human beings, but to develop life-saving therapies'.

Tony Blair's government acted swiftly to bring in emergency legislation in response to anticipated public reaction and media criticism. And the public were left to wonder how things had moved so far and so fast.

In fact the announcement was just the latest small step in a long-running saga, of which many have been blissfully unaware. So what exactly has been happening? What does the future hold? What should evangelicals think about the new developments?

What did the US scientists do?

The birth of Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by the technique known as cell nuclear replacement (CNR), was announced in 1997 and immediately caused an uproar. Since that time scientists have used the Dolly technique to clone a variety of mammals including cows, goats and mice. But dogs, cats, monkeys and humans have, until now, proved much more difficult.

The Dolly technique involves extracting the genetic material (DNA) from the nucleus of a normal body cell (in the case of Dolly from the breast of another sheep) and fusing it with an unfertilised egg from which the nucleus (including the DNA) has been removed. The egg and new DNA are caused to join through the use of an electric current, and the resulting embryo once produced grows into an individual almost identical to that from whom the DNA was derived. I say 'almost' identical because the egg still contains a small amount of DNA of its own (called mitochondrial DNA) which does get incorporated into the new individual. So Dolly had two parents; but unlike a normal sheep almost all her DNA came from one of her parents, rather than half from each. Dolly was thus a time-lapse twin of the sheep whose breast tissue supplied her genes.

Using the Dolly method, scientists at 'Advanced Cell Technology' (ACT) claimed to have produced a human clone by transplanting the nucleus of an adult skin cell into an unfertilised human egg - but managed to grow the resultant embryo only to the six-cell stage (about three days old). There is still therefore a very long way to go before humans cloned by the Dolly method could be born, and many scientists remain sceptical as to whether it is technically possible. Many see November's announcement simply as a publicity stunt by ACT for reasons of prestige and profit.

Hurried legislation

The current cloning saga began in December 2000 when the government legalised research on cloned human embryos by extending the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. This legislation was rushed through both the Commons and the Lords within a month on the pretext that it would allow research to go ahead (through production of embryonic 'stem cells') that would potentially find cures for serious degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy.

However, after the legislation was passed, a moratorium on all research on cloned embryos was imposed after the Pro-life Alliance (PLA) launched a case against the government in the High Court. The PLA argued that cloned embryos were not 'embryos' as defined in the HFE Act, and therefore not governed by that Act. Their case was upheld by Justice Crane on November 15, leaving Britain with no law on cloning. That very day Dr. Antinori, the controversial Italian fertility specialist, announced that he was on his way to Britain to set up a cloning clinic here. The government's hand was forced and within ten days the Human Reproductive Cloning Bill - which bans placing in a woman an embryo created by any means other than fertilisation - was passed in both the Commons and the Lords.

Loopholes

The new Act, however, is full of loopholes which unscrupulous lawyers and scientists could potentially exploit. For example:

* Cloned embryos could still be produced here in the UK and exported for implantation abroad or in a ship anchored offshore - the woman could then return to have her baby in the UK. Furthermore cloned babies could still be born here if they are both produced and implanted abroad.
* Cloned embryos could be grown in a lab past 14 days (and if the technology becomes available to the foetal stage or even 'to birth') because, as has already been established by the recent High Court ruling, cloned embryos are not governed by the HFE Act, which prohibits embryos being allowed to live beyond 14 days.
* Cloned embryos could conceivably be placed in the womb of a female of another species or in a man (theoretical possibilities but not beyond technological advance).
* The law will be impossible to police - this is because no one will announce illegally-cloned humans until after they are born - when it will be impossible to prove that they are cloned without producing the human beings from whom the genetic material in the embryo (both nuclear and mitochondrial) was derived. Lawyers could simply deny that the child is a clone and the burden of proof would be on the government to prove it with all the hassle and taxpayer's money that that involves. And suppose one of the DNA donors has since emigrated, or eluded detection or even worse died? Will the police then be left to hunt down the 'suspects'?

A ban on all cloning?

Christian Medical Fellowship was one of several groups which have called (unsuccessfully) on the government to issue an immediate moratorium on ALL human cloning, whether for reproduction or research, and to take time to draft proper primary legislation. We argued that:

* Cloning embryos is unethical because it uses human embryos as a means to an end. This runs counter to the Judaeo-Christian ethic, enshrined in our legal system and in international codes such as the Declaration of Geneva (1948), which affirms unequivocally that human life - at every stage of its development - deserves the utmost respect. The Declaration of Helsinki (1975) says that in biomedical research 'the interest of science and society should never take precedence over considerations related to the well-being of the subject'.
* Cloning of embryos will lead inevitably to reproductive cloning. Once cloned embryos exist, 'theoretically' all that is needed to eventually produce human clones would be to implant them in a woman - a technique that, as argued above, is simple to perform and impossible to police.
* There is a viable alternative to embryonic cloning in adult stem cell technology. The latest research suggests that adult stem cells, e.g. from the bone marrow, have much more flexibility than was previously thought and are therefore more effective in replacing damaged cells. Adult stem cells have already been used successfully in humans in the treatment of bowel, skin, blood and heart disease, and in other mammals for a much broader range of illnesses. Much of this work post-dates the Donaldson Report which recommended the use of embryonic stem cells and which provided the basis for the government's hurried legislation last December/January. It is now 18 months out of date and based on yesterday's science.

Immense difficulties

It took 277 attempts to produce Dolly the sheep and early indications are that human cloning will be much more difficult. Foetuses produced by nuclear transfer are ten times more likely to die in utero than foetuses produced by normal sexual means, while cloned offspring are three times more likely to die after birth. Cloning humans would lead to high foetal loss and deformities in the newborn - and will always be wrong for these reasons alone - not to mention the social and psychological sequelae for the clones, their families and society at large.

As Christians we should not be surprised by the legal, social and ethical problems that the whole cloning fiasco is creating. While the responsible use of technology is part of good Christian stewardship, the end never justifies the means (Romans 3.8). We must do God's work God's way. God ordained that his image in human beings (Genesis 1.27) was to be passed on in the context of a loving committed marriage relationship, through sexual union (Genesis 2.24) and that children should be reared, protected, disciplined and educated within the context of a stable family relationship. We disregard his wisdom at our peril.

For more information on cloning and related issues see www.cmf.org.uk/ethics/genetics.htm or contact Christian Medical Fellowship, 157 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8XN. Email info@cmf.org.uk.