Cloning: Technology and Ethics

Austin Jou

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. The History of Cloning
3. The Hall and Stillman Experiment
4. Criticism of the Hall and Stillman Experiemnt
5. Should Cloning Be Allowed to Continue
6. Conclusion
7. Works Cited

The History of Cloning

The first attempts to replicate animal embryos occurred in the 1940's and 1950's. Researchers took young embryos from rats and successfully separated each embryo into its few constituent cells (Fackelmann, 6ff). This technique, called blastomere separation, was later used in 1970 to clone mice embryos (Elmer-Dewitt, 67). The technology of blastomere separation has gone through small refinements since the 1970's, but core of the procedure remains the same. Until very recently, blastomere separation was a technique reserved for the replication of animal embryos. In most cases, scientists cloned the embryos in the hopes of producing large numbers of livestock that all exhibited the qualities of a well-bred animal. However, in 1993, researchers Jerry Hall and Robert Stillman at the George Washington University Medical School in Washington D.C. crossed into the realm of human embryo cloning. Their experiment marked the first successful cloning of a human polyploid (containing more than one extra set of chromosomes) embryo (Miller, 7ff). Hall and Stillman were able to use human embryos for their experiment because the polyploid embryos were unsuitable for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), the purpose for which they were originally intended. In any case, when Hall and Stillman presented their study on "twinning" (see the Hall and Stillman experiment) at the 1993 meeting of The American Fertility Society conjointly with the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, a huge nationwide debate about cloning began.

The Hall and Stillman Experiment

The Hall and Stillman experiment was first reported in The New York Times. The Times seriously misinterpreted the results of the experiment in the article about Hall and Stillman. The writers stated that human embryos were cloned in their laboratory. However, Hall and Stillman actually used a process called "twinning" in their replication process of human embryos. First, they took 17 two-to eight-cell embryos and separated the individual embryonic cells, or blastomeres (Kolberg, 652). Then, they coated the embryos with an artificial zona pellucida, the tough outer covering that covers blastomeres, made from an extract of seaweed (Fackelmann, 6ff). Lastly, they placed the cells in media (solution), normally used for IVF, and left to develop.

The public has a very different view of cloning. The most popular notion of cloning is summarized by John Robertson, who writes for an independent bioethics journal:

Perhaps due to science fiction fantasies, it has been assumed that cloning would occur by removing the nucleus from the cell of one person, placing it in an egg that has had its nucleus removed, and then implanting it in a laboratory incubator or a woman who would bring to term a child with the identical genetic characteristics of the person providing the cell nucleus. (6ff)

This concept of cloning is perhaps the ideal model that researchers eventually hope to attain. However, this is extremely different from "twinning". Cloning involves the formation of a new human being that is derived from a differentiated cell, such as a liver cell or epidermal cell. A cell that has already differentiated is focused on a particular function. Its genetic material is not as readily available as an undifferentiated blastomere (Elmer-Dewitt, 66). Twinning involves the replication of embryos that are still very young and undifferentiated, meaning that the cells had not specialized yet. While cloning has been performed in animals, human cloning poses difficulties that are much greater than in animals due to the complexity of replicating a differentiated human cell.

Criticism of the Hall and Stillman Experiment

Even though the Hall and Stillman study appears to have been successful, many scientists question the validity of the experiment. Most of the cloned embryos experienced numerous cell divisions, but none of the embryos developed to a state in which they were capable of being implanted in the uterus. Further doubt clouded the experiment when it was revealed by Stillman that no one had tested the genetic content of the embryos (Voelker 331ff). Hall and Stillman could not prove empirically that the embryos were identical. One of the more vocal critics of the Hall-Stillman experiment, Dr. Jacques Cohen of the New York City Hospital/Cornell University Medical School, insisted that the embryos could not possibly be identical:

These were dispermic embryos. They do not just have 50% more chromosomes, they are mosaic. They have the ability to divide normally, but the chromosomes in the daughter cells are not identical. You cannot just split these embryos in two; they are not identical halves. (qtd. in Voelker 331ff)

Although the experiment was questionable in the eyes scientists like Dr. Cohen, the fact remains that Hall and Stillman produced almost three times as many new embryos with their procedure.

Should Cloning Research Be Allowed to Continue?

Cloning is a technology that must be developed. The benefits of cloning are endless. Houman Hemmati, an undergraduate working in a biotechnology lab, argues that scientists should proceed with great caution in their "efforts to manipulate genes to enhance the quality of life for all people" (5-22-95). His concerns are valid because cloning, like all other technologies, can be abused. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the acceptable and unacceptable uses for cloning.

The most immediate benefits of cloning would be for couples that have problems with infertility. IVF is one of the best procedures currently available for the treatment of infertility. However, it does have limitations. According to John Robertson, the "highest rates of pregnancy occur with transfer of three to four embryos" (6ff). Many couples that cannot produce the required number have basically wasted their time and money on a procedure that is unlikely to give them the results that they desire. The process of cloning would allow scientists to make many copies of a single embryo. As a result, the odds for IVF success will be increased dramatically.

The other major use for the replication of human embryos is in the field of genetic detection. Genetic detection has become increasingly important in the diagnosis of serious diseases like Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis, and Huntington's disease during a baby's earliest stages of development. The process consists of extracting one blastomere from a newly fertilized egg and interpreting the genetic material in the blastomere using a process called gel electrophoresis. However, one blastomere may not provide scientists with enough DNA to obtain a concrete diagnosis. The use of cloning allows scientists to replicate the extracted blastomere in order to increase the amount of genetic material, thereby improving the effectiveness of the genetic tests. According to Dr. Neil Holzman, biotechnologists are very anxious to develop the process of genetic analysis so that scientists will be able to detect the presence of a disease even before therapy treatment for the disease is available (Genentech WWW Site).

Despite the benefits of cloning, there are inherent dangers to possessing such a technology. For instance, this technology could be used to clone another human being in order to obtain a desirable genome. Jeremy Rifkin, the founder of a bioethics group called the Foundation on Economic Trends, believes that the use of cloning to treat genetic defects will naturally lead to the genetic engineering of human beings. He raises the issue that scientists will soon classify myopia, brown-eyes, and left-handedness as "disorders". (577) He believes that everyone will trying to engineer the perfect human. Rifkin possesses a hysterical fear of the unknown dangers of cloning. However, the possibility does exist that a megalomaniac, like Hitler, could use cloning to master a perfect race. Therefore, it is important that the public and government make sure that some standards are set to judge what is a genetic "disorder" and what isn't. Although this distinction becomes difficult to make with defects like dwarfism and diabetes, there is a clear difference between a disease like Tay-Sachs and superficial features like hair and eye-color. Cloning should only be used in the diagnosis and treatment of very serious and life-threatening diseases.

Genetically engineering a child for the purpose of donating its blood, bone marrow, or organs to another person is another abuse of cloning. Fairly recently, the Ayala case in California upheld parents' right to conceive another child as a bone marrow donor. This case was monumental because it suggested that parents could go to extreme lengths to save the life of another child. Although the American justice system has declared this procedure legal, cloning should not be used for this purpose. There are several distinctions between cloning and conceiving a child to donate tissue. First of all, if cloning ever becomes readily accessible, commercial companies will be able to create donor centers where they "manufacture" donors by mass genetic production. They will then sell this service to families who are desperate for a donor. This scenario is considerably different from having a couple conceive a child in order to preserve the life of an earlier born child. The child who is conceived by a couple will most likely be loved and accepted by the family. Who will love and nurture the commercially made babies? For this reason, capitalism is one of the greatest dangers to cloning. The commercial instinct of humans can turn a potentially benificial technology into a threat to society.

Conclusion

Cloning is a very new technology that possesses the potential to revolutionize fertility and genetic medicine. However, the public, scientific community, and government must take steps to ensure that cloning will not be used for unethical purposes. People must act now to educate others about the benefits and dangers of cloning. If cloning is limited to certain uses like IVF and genetic analysis, we can prevent cloning from becoming harmful to society. Cloning, like any other technology, is dangerous under the hands of the ignorant and careless. With the right precautions, cloning can become a technique that will help to preserve human life.

The Biotech Page
Genentech Homepage
Bioethics Online Service (Medical College of Wisconsin)
The Exploratorium