No Chance for Factory Recalls on Serious Genetic Errors in
Cloning
Since Dolly and her maker hit the news last month, we've heard some very
interesting motives for cloning humans: perpetuate yourself or preserve
a loved one; generate spare body parts; create legions of someone with
"superior" traits. The first scenario is based on flawed understanding:
A clone and the original are not the same person. They just have identical
genes, but so do identical twins. The "spare parts" scenario
is also gruesomely inappropriate, since clones would be humans in their
own right.
The "superior" traits or Boys from Brazil scenario carries the
same trainload of ethical and moral problems that accompany any eugenics
scheme: What does "superior" mean, and how will that judgment
impact future generations? In addition it brings hazards resulting from
progressive accumulation of genetic errors in successive "generations"
of clones.
Ian Wilmut, Dolly's creator, had other motives when he set about creating
Dolly. He developed his cloning method as a tool for use in germline genetic
engineering, which is the manipulation of genes in an early embryo or fertilized
egg. When that embryo develops into a mature individual, every cell in
their body, including reproductive cells (eggs or sperm) will be genetically
altered. Therefore, if the scientist's genetic scalpel happens to slip,
the mistake will not just harm the individual, but will be passed on to
their progeny, thereby creating a new genetic disease that will plague
all generations to come.
Wilmut himself abhors using his method to manipulate the genes of human
embryos, but its mere existence creates the opportunity for others who
are less ethically developed to do so. And some of these people are in
high and powerful places in the scientific and biotechnology communities.
Human germline manipulation is tremendously attractive commercially. Although
the market for bone fide gene therapy is limited to from a few patients
with rare genetic diseases and possibly others with cancer or AIDS, the
market for what might be called "genetic improvement" is massive-it
is every set of prospective parents. "For $299.95 your child can be
born with the Mozart, Einstein, or Michael Jordan gene."
Intriguing as this possibility might seem at first, there is a serious
downside: Scientists acknowledge that these mistakes are unavoidable in
genetic engineering. Automakers can recall and correct defective products,
but the manufacturing defects resulting from germline genetic manipulations
cannot be recalled. They are irreversible. Therefore, if applied widely,
germline engineering will progressively corrupt the blueprint of our species
with genetic errors. These will irreversibly burden future generations
with new genetic diseases, causing millions to suffer.
President Clinton has made a good start toward staving off this danger,
but ultimately we need laws explicitly banning human cloning and germline
manipulations. Several European nations have taken the lead in passing
such laws. We should follow suit and also establish international treaties
similar to those governing nuclear weapons.
If governments fail to transmit clear signals regarding this seductive
but dangerous technology, the welfare of humanity could well take a back
seat to return on investment.
Dr. John B. Fagan, Molecular Biologist
Richard Wolfson, PhD
Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Food
Natural Law Party
500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2
Tel. 613-565-8517 Fax. 613-565-6546
email: rwolfson@concentric.net
NLP Website: http://www.natural-law.ca
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