Cloning. [Issues in ethics]

Author

Fielder, John H.

Volume

21

Issue

4

fYear

2002

Firstpage

120

Lastpage

122

Abstract

It seems ages ago (but it was only 1997) that Dolly, the sheep cloned by Ian Wilmot in Scotland, made headlines all over the world. Using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), in which genetic material is introduced into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed, Dolly was a copy of the donating sheep. The ethical discussion had already begun, even before a successful mammalian cloning, but Dolly launched an intense debate and calls for legislative bans on human cloning. One of the central ethical questions raised by successful animal cloning is whether human cloning is permissible, and if so, under what conditions. A related question is the therapeutic use of human cloning for research on stem cells. Both reveal complex ethical and political issues; in this space I can only touch on some of them.

Keywords

DNA; genetics; patient treatment; reviews; Dolly the sheep; Ian Wilmot; cloned sheep; donating sheep; egg; ethical discussion; genetic material; human cloning; legislative bans; nucleus removal; political issues; stem cells research; therapeutic use; Aging; Animals; Birth disorders; Cloning; DNA; Ethics; Genetics; Humans; Shape; Stem cells; Abortion, Induced; Bioethical Issues; Cloning, Organism; Embryo Disposition; Ethics, Medical; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Personal Autonomy; Public Opinion; Reproduction; Stem Cell Transplantation; Stem Cells; United States;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0739-5175

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MEMB.2002.1032649

Filename

1032649