Angsuman Chakraborty12 Mar 2005 07:56 pm
It is of much regret that the ban on human cloning has been passed in the UN, however symbolic it may be.
My heartfelt support goes to the following countries for their opposition to the ban. I am proud to say India is in this list.
Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People%u2019s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Iceland, India, Jamaica, Japan, Lao People%u2019s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Tonga, United Kingdom.
These are the countries which will contribute to the future of the medical science.
Filed under Advocacy | 10 Comments
Related?
European Union Approves Human Stem Cell ResearchOctober 3rd, 2006 The European Union's Competitiveness Council has just approved its common position on the seventh research framework programme for 2007-13 by qualified majority voting. Twenty countries, accounting for 267 votes according to the vote-weighting system in force, voted in favour and five countries - Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Austria and Slovakia -representing 54 votes, votes against, on the grounds of their opposition to human stem cell research.
Therapeutic Cloning for Stem Cell Production Passed in VictoriaMay 3rd, 2007 Historic legislation to allow therapeutic cloning for stem cell production could spark a flood of medical research in Victoria, says Health Minister Bronwyn Pike. The legislation, an amendment to Victoria's Infertility Treatment Act, passed the Upper House of the state's parliament in a historic conscience vote, 23 votes to 16.
Australia Lifts Ban on Human Embryo Cloning for Stem Cell ResearchNovember 9th, 2006 Australia's Senate narrowly voted to end the country's four-year ban on cloning human embryos for stem cell research, ruling Tuesday that the potential for medical breakthroughs outweighed moral doubts. The decision -- a rare conscience vote in a country where lawmakers are expected to follow the party line -- sets the stage for the ban to be lifted entirely.
Stem Cell Research: Australian Health Minister Dreams of Human-Animal HybridsAugust 21st, 2006 According to Health Minister, Tony Abbott, lifting the ban on human stem cell cloning could lead to "human-animal hybrids" - a claim dismissed as rubbish by a fellow Liberal MP. Mr Abbott's claim that the recommendations of the Lockhart report on human cloning and embryo research opened the way to hybrid humans was dismissed as "a pretty childish ploy" by a Government backbencher and general practitioner, Dr Mal Washer.
Human Cloning: The Final FrontierDecember 3rd, 2003 Q. Are we playing God in attempting to clone humans?
No, but we sure are playing God in trying to decide what God wants, in trying to ban cloning. Last I checked God hasn't delegated anyone the responsibility to be his mouthpiece!
If God doesn't wan't cloning, being omnipotent as he is, he will not make it happen.
Humans are not the only ones who can clone, fire ants too can cloneJuly 3rd, 2005 Nature has taken a lead in cloning over humans.
UK researchers get full permission to research on different types of embryosOctober 22nd, 2008 Latest news reveals about the declination of amendments of abortion and the passage of new bill which includes the permission to research on different embryos for finding cure to different non-curable diseases. This bill was proposed by the British scientists with an aim to help patients with stem cell therapy and cloning.
Controversial abortion and human cloning bills were debated in the House April 22nd, 2009 The most controversial and pending bills like abortion and cloning were heard by the House State Affairs Committee in presence of overcrowded supporters and opponents of the bills. Abortion
The first abortion bill was proposed by state Rep.
10 Responses
Leave a Comment
March 13th, 2005 at 12:06 pm
So if you don’t clone you aren’t contributing to medical science? Interesting.
March 13th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
I am in the US (white dude) and I couldn’t agree more! IT’s a REAL shame that such medical miracles that could stem from all this are being shunted by the world at large!
I mean, ok, I am kind of on the “its weird” side thinking that a clone of me could be brought to life (I imagine we are a long ways off from growing a human to full adult hood right from a cloned state… my guess is they would be born like anyone else). On the other hand, the ability to grow “cloned” parts for my body, that is amazing and could prove the cure for a LOT of problems. Of course, assuming you are rich enough to buy one and then pay for the surgery.. ;)
It is a real shame though! A woman in South Korea is a result of stem cell research that was once crippled can now walk! These things await us and it would almost be a truly amazing time to live. I imagine our kids *might* see the miracles that we should be seeing in our lifetiime.
March 17th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
@Send in the Clones
Yes, I believe the future of medical science is in stem cell research and therpeutic cloning (including human organs). And countries like USA which have so far been on the forefront of medical science will soon be losing ground to these countries and its face to millions of people who are affected with diseases like diabetes, kidney, heart, liver diseases etc.
March 17th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
@Kevin Cloning need not be cloning of full humans. As Dolly experience suggests Dolly clone was as old as Dolly. However that still makes therapeutic cloning possible. You can create a clone of kidney and replace a diseased kidney of a 50 year old. Sure the cloned kidney will also be 50 years old ( based on telomer sequence). However that is fine.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
People suffering from kidney and liver disease, diabetes, cancer, heart problems, etc. are the ones that must suffer from lack of action. There are too many ethical issues to clone a human, so why not just clone the tissues that are needed? By providing these vital parts, thousands of people can enjoy the simple pleasures of life again. We should give it a shot!
September 27th, 2005 at 12:21 am
@Krystal
I am fine with cloning tissues or organs only for replacingg diseased organs like heart or pancreas or kidney. And yes we should give it a shot, hell as many shots as needed :)
However what do you see as “ethical issues” to human cloning?
Is it “helping God syndrome” or is it “how to share properties with my clone” or “right to my wife/husband” issue?
I think only the fools think that by banning human cloning he is supporting God. I am religious myself. But I do not harbor pretentious notions that God needs my help. If he could pretty well create the whole world without my help, I am sure if he can look after himself well and not waiting for my help or that of religious bigots.
It is flat-earther phenomena once again and unfortunately it is the same religion which is to blame.
As for other “ethical issues” surrpounding human cloning isn’t it a simple solution just to say that a clone is an individual different from the cloned “parent”? And give him the same rights as any other humans.
After all he is a human.
How the clone is identified from his “parent” is an easy issue which can be easily resolved technologically. Ethics has nothing to do with it.
November 12th, 2005 at 7:47 pm
I am really impressed by the work being done with spinal injury patients in Portugal: long term injuries at that. These doctors said that in 5 years time they expect to be able to take stem cells from the back of the nose and give me a kidney transplant with no anti-rejection drugs. That wwill do me just fine. I am hanging on with dialysis and hoping I will live till then.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
In your posting on September 26, 2005, you indicated, “People suffering from kidney and liver disease, diabetes, cancer, heart problems, etc. are the ones that must suffer from lack of action. There are too many ethical issues to clone a human, so why not just clone the tissues that are needed? By providing these vital parts, thousands of people can enjoy the simple pleasures of life again. We should give it a shot” (Krystal 5)!
The idea of cloning tissues and parts “that are needed” is absurd. Ethical issues currently surrounding human cloning exists because the idea of killing hundreds of early-stage embryos is the currently the process in development. Americans may want think about what goes into cloning humans or animals in the first place before determining whether humans, human tissues or animals are cloned.
When it comes to the topic of stem cell research, specifically, the process of cloning tissues and vital human parts produced from stem cells acquired from early-stage embryos, most of us will readily agree that there is extreme controversy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of social and ethical reasons. Whereas many Americans are convinced that ethics are clouding the main objective of cloning humans, cloning organs and tissues (also known as therapeutic cloning, research cloning, or somatic cell nuclear transfer) to prevent the onset of degenerative, chronic, and acute diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, and should not apply. Most Christians around the world including me maintain that social and ethical reasons surround all issues associated with cloning humans or human parts no matter which are determined. I agree that the process of creating and destroying hundreds of embryos for the sole purpose of creating a cloned human and/or a human part is morally wrong.
Let us think about this for a moment. Since the scientists and geneticists have not successfully cloned a human yet, they are only able to identify with the physical results presented in cloned animals. For example, many informed citizens may have heard about Dolly, the first cloned sheep in Scotland. People around the globe were fascinated and frightened at the same time at what scientists and geneticists initiated. Manipulating DNA may sound innocent enough, but the effects are overwhelming.
In Patrick Tucker’s book review, After Dolly: The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning, by Ian Wilmut and Roger Highfield, Wilmut and Highfield explain that even though the process of cloning is not complicated, Wilmut expresses his doubt in human cloning, “He is skeptical that genetic enhancement is even possible because the genetic control of many traits is so complex. Any genetic change intended to influence intelligence, say, could also change other aspects of personality in an unpredictable way” (48).
The process of collecting DNA is simply any organism, plant or animal, which has come into existence by non-sexual reproduction. In Dolly’s case, she is the product of DNA harvested from an adult cell that was then inserted into a hollowed-out egg. The egg was then fertilized by an electrical burst and finally placed in the uterine lining of the foster mother (Tucker 48). As you may know, when an animal is born through sexual reproduction, it inherits characteristics and genes of both parents. However, a clone inherits all of its characteristics and genes from a single parent (Driver and Mehta 29). In other words, the cloning attempt is successful when the resulting offspring is a genetic match with the original DNA donor (Tucker 48).
On the other hand, the practice of cloning is far more difficult. The controversy lies in the technique used to harvest the stem cells. For example, Wilmut and Highfield claimed that their team extracted almost 300 stem cells from early-stage embryos and implanted almost 30 embryos into surrogate mothers, but only one embryo developed into Dolly (Tucker 48). Furthermore, authors K.P. Driver and D. Mehta wrote Genetic Engineering–The Cloning Breakthrough, indicate that the animal cloning process suffers from two limitations, namely, low survival rates of clones due to spontaneous abortions and the need for numerous foster mothers to bring the implanted embryo to term (Driver and Mehta 29). It is alarming at how many stem cells are necessary to produce enough embryos to create a successful fetus.
Even though the process of acquiring stem cells from early-stage embryos is considered superior to any of the alternative methods (umbilical cord blood, placentas, etc.) currently founded by several biomedical companies, the option of replacing the existing process is vital to the ethical and social controversies of cloning organs and tissues. For example, research indicates stem cells just as versatile as those derived from embryos can be produced from adult cells, bone marrow, spleen, etc. Accordingly, author Benjamin Stix of the Scientific American, points out that skin cells have been reprogrammed to become more like other cells (1).
Along the same lines, author Bonnie Steinbock who wrote Alternative Sources of Stem Cells, shares the President’s Council on Bioethics recently published white paper, setting out four alternatives: Deriving cells from dead embryos – organ donation; Nonharmful biopsy – stem cells removed without harming the embryo; Altered Nuclear Transplantation – a biological artifact; and Dedifferentiation – reprogramming somatic cells (24-26).
Similarly, further investigation by Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, MA, indicates progress in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which is the equivalent of Nonharmful biopsy indicated in Steinbock’s findings (Vergano 2).
Hence, I agree with Fr. John F. Kavanaugh, S.J., a professor at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, who has stated that having an ethical opinion on stem cell research is one position, but deciding to put forth the effort and pay for research on alternative methods is yet another. Scientists and geneticists will continue to progress in stem cell research. “However, a true alternative will have been offered to the world of medicine, in a way that is not only more ethical in its vision and methods, but quite possibly more effective in healing” (Kavanaugh 9). What Fr. Kavanaugh really means is if we are passionate about changing the current stem cell research process to research based on alternative stem cell methods, as a replacement for creating and destroying early-stage embryos, then we need to act and fund scientists and geneticists that support our ethical and moral view points.
I do not believe that the killing of hundreds of embryos for that one shot at fetus development is worth the benefit. I do understand the need to find cures for diseases, but as a democratic society, I also believe in educating ourselves in understanding all the information available to us. I have found that there is a great deal to learn about stem cell research—cloning humans and cloning organs and tissues. If we listen to the media, we will possibly receive a distorted conclusion and miss the gravity of this issue. It is in our best interest to investigate our own findings and develop our own conclusions.
Works Cited
Driver, K.P. and Mehta, D. “Genetic Engineering-the cloning breakthrough.” Chemical Business. 11.2 (1997): 29. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Century College Lib., White Bear Lake, MN. 1 Oct. 2006 .
Kavanaugh, John F. “Cloning, by Whatever Name, Smells Bad.” Ethics Notebook. 19-26 Jun. 2006.
Krystal. “Stupidity on the Rise Unapproves Human Cloning Ban.” 26 Sept. 2005. 9 Sept. 2006. .
Steinbock, Bonnie. “Alternative Sources of Stem Cells.” Hastings Center Report. 35.4 (2005): 24-26. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Century College Lib., White Bear Lake, MN. 19 Sept. 2006 .
Stix, Benjamin. “Stem Cell Alternative?” Scientific American. 287.1 (2002): 33 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Century College Lib., White Bear Lake, MN. 19 Sept. 2006 .
Tucker, Patrick. “Designer Babies and 21st Century Cures.” Futurist. 40.5 (2006): 48-49. Academic Search Premier. EBSCPO. Century College Lib., White Bear Lake, MN. 19 Sept. 2006 .
Vergano, Dan. “Stem Cell Alternatives Put Forth.” USA Today. (2005). Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Century College Lib., White Bear Lake, MN. 19 Sept. 2006 .
September 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
wow lisa, think you said enough? i dont support human cloning but im to tired to tak about it right now. talk to me when i’ve had more than 10 minutes of sleep. zzzzzzzz…
September 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
i mean talk. eh to hell with it. im goin to bed.