Ethics Takes Back Seat to Clone Science

Dec. 31 -- More than one scientist has noted that there are already millions of clones alive today. They're called twins.

Identical twins happen to have the same DNA — the same long, spiraling set of genetic instructions in each cell of their bodies. But they were conceived naturally.

Now we are faced with the claim that a clone has been created artificially.

"I am creating life," said Brigitte Boisselier, chief executive of Clonaid, the firm that announced on Friday that a healthy 7-pound girl had been delivered by Caesarean section the day before and is an exact genetic copy of her mother.

Although she provided no proof, Boisselier said the child, nicknamed Eve, would be subjected to testing.

The world will have to wait for a DNA test to see if that's what really happened. But whether it has, an old issue has come back to life.

Bills to ban cloning that languished in Congress will now be hotly debated. And the debate is not limited to Washington, D.C. In Texas, for example, a state senator introduced a bill Monday to ban cloning in the state.

"I get a pit in my stomach every time I think about theunspeakable horrors that must have occurred in the cloning of thischild, especially considering that it takes about 100 attempts forscientists to get it right in cloning an animal," said the bill's Republican sponsor, state Sen. Jane Nelson, in a statement.

A Huge Understatement

Many scientists — even those who believe cloning of individual cells could someday help cure disease — are frightened by the headlines of the last few days.

"To say ethics hasn't caught up with science on cloning is literally the understatement of the century," said Glenn McGee, Assistant Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics.

To create a clone, DNA is taken from a cell of the person who wishes to be copied. DNA is also removed from a human egg in a lab and replaced with the donor's DNA.

The altered egg is then placed in the uterus of a woman where the hope is that it will grow to a healthy baby.