Taking Sides: Therapeutic Cloning

Aug. 6 -- Cloning. The very word stirs images of identical humans, spawned from the cells of one individual. But some experts think the House of Representatives, in voting against all types of human cloning last week, threw away an opportunity to do some real good.

Here are two arguments, from an ethicist who makes that case, and a congressman who co-sponsored the bill that passed. You can read them, then weigh in with your thoughts.

The essays are the opinions of the writers alone and not of ABCNEWS.

In Opposing Cloning, the House Overreaches

By Ronald M. Green

On Tuesday, July 31, by a vote of 265-162, the House of Representative passed HR 2505, a bill that outlaws all forms of human cloning in the United States. The bill bans not just reproductive cloning — the effort to produce a genetic replica of a person — but therapeutic cloning as well.

Therapeutic cloning is one of the most promising areas of medical research. It combines nuclear transfer (cloning) technology with human stem-cell research. Stem cells are all-purpose cells found in the early embryo that can be stimulated to become more specialized cells for tissue repair or replacement.

In one very recent report, stem cells injected into a paralyzed mouse partially repaired a spinal cord injury and allowed the mouse to walk. Just this week, British researchers announced that they had induced human embryonic stem cells to form pancreatic tissue. This provides hope that youngsters suffering from juvenile diabetes might receive replacement insulin-producing cells. Untreated, this illness can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and blindness.

Small wonder that scientists and patient groups are excited about stem-cell technology.

But there is a technical problem. Since stem cells come from embryos that have their own distinctive DNA, the recipient might well reject tissues produced in this way. To prevent this, clinicians could administer powerful immuno-suppression drugs. But these drugs have their own risks, such as increased susceptibility to infections or cancer.

Therapeutic cloning would eliminate these problems. The mother of a diabetic child could donate an egg from one of her ovaries and its nucleus would be removed. A body cell could be taken from the child and its nucleus inserted into the egg. Stimulated to divide, this would soon reach the 100-