Unesco flays human cloning
Anil K Jopesph (PTI)
From the Hindustani Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/040901/dtLFOR09.asp
Beijing, September 4

UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL Kochiro Matsuura has decried attempts being made to clone human beings which he said were  against 'human dignity.'

"I am disturbed and even disgusted when I read that some  people are attempting human cloning. These attempts are  against human dignity," he said.

Matsuura, who was here to attend the E-9 ministerial review  meeting of the world's nine most populous countries, pointed  out that Unesco has been on the forefront of advocating a  new code of conduct in bio-ethics.

 As early as 1997, Unesco adopted a universal declaration on  human genome and human rights which totally banned human  cloning. This declaration was also endorsed by the UN  General Assembly, he noted.

 Cloning is a process that can take any living organism and  make a virtually genetically identical duplicate.   International debate on human cloning heated up earlier this  year after some western researchers said that they planned  to produce cloned people. The United States, Russia, Italy,  Britain and several other countries have moved to ban human  cloning.

 Meanwhile, leading US and Chinese scientists involved in the  international human genome project (HGP) have described  human cloning as a mission both 'wrong' and 'impossible.'   The chief co-ordinator of the HGP, Professor Francis Collins  said any attempt to redesign and produce human beings  through biological methods would be impossible.

 Collins said the respect for human freedom and dignity  should be the premise for any scientific move, and  scientists should firmly oppose the abuse of genes and human  cloning.

 His view echoed the opinions of many experts who attended  the International Human Genome Sequencing Strategy  Conference in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang  province, Xinhua news agency reported.

 Eric Lander, a leading figure at the HGP and a biology  professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the  United States, said human cloning is "impossible" and  "absolutely wrong."   He said scientists cannot produce human beings, nor should  they try to change human beings. He added that HGP is  designed to understand the human genome, not to change it.

 Many scientists warn of horrific consequences if anyone  tries to apply the techniques used to create 'Dolly' the  sheep for producing cloned people.   Cloning involves enormous risks and is inefficient. There  are many other natural ways of helping infertile women give  birth. Mankind does not need to clone itself, Lander said.

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 From:  Rev. Douglas B. Hunt, M.S. Ph.D.  Religious Center on Biotechnology  100 Maryland AV, NE - Rm. 317  Washington, DC 20002  email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.