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American Scientists Announce Intent to Clone Humans for Research

By Mark Adams

April 19, 2006 (culture-of-life.org via LifeSiteNews.com) – Scientists from Harvard and California announced at a recent conference their intent to clone human embryos and destroy them for their stem cells and are hoping to succeed where disgraced South Korean scientist Woo-Suk Hwang dramatically failed. Hwang, who claimed to be the first in the world to successfully clone humans, was discredited in January after it was revealed he had fabricated almost all of his data.

     The scientists' announcement came at a conference in Cambridge, Mass. held in early April according to a report from the Bloomberg news service. According to the report the scientists acknowledged Hwang's failure and even admitted to falling for the hoax. Kevin Eggan, a Harvard researcher said he visited Hwang's laboratory last year to learn his techniques for cloning. "I would have trusted him with my wallet," Eggan said of Hwang. "He projected this air of expertise and trustworthiness that exists with few people."

     Human cloning for the purpose of extracting embryonic stem cells is one of the most ethically controversial aspects of the entire field of stem cell research not only because it requires the killing of human life but also for the concerns it raises that women will be exploited for their eggs. The scientists acknowledged that obtaining egg donations remains a practical and ethical challenge to their work. Massachusetts law forbids payment for human eggs for cloning purposes and the process for donating eggs is long, arduous and painful. One of the scientists argues that payment is owed to the women who participate. "I personally feel uncomfortable about someone going through such a painful procedure with no compensation for time," said Robert Lanza, medical director of Advanced Cell Technology Inc., a biotechnology firm in Worcester, Mass.

     The research being conducted at Harvard is done by scientists at a secret location in a basement laboratory because the school fears protesters yet the scientists appear unable to understand why destroying human embryos for scientific research might be morally questionable. "There's nothing about the research I do that should be done behind closed doors," a Harvard scientist said. "It's perfectly ethical and has an honorable goal."

     Research using embryonic stem cells has been widely hailed in the media as a likely source of cures for numerous diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Despite these claims embryonic stem cells have contributed no cures to any human diseases. In eight years of attempts at human cloning there have been no successes despite three false claims to the contrary. Pro-life advocates have long celebrated the successes of adult stem cells which have successfully treated more than 60 diseases.

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