Group Claims Creation of First Human Clone
Reuters News Service
Posted Dec. 27, 2002 (Hollywood, Fla.) -- A company associated with a group that believes extraterrestrials created mankind was set to announce Friday that it had produced the first clone of a human being.
The company, Clonaid, was to announce at a news conference later Friday that it had cloned a baby girl who appeared to have been born healthy. The company said it would hold a news conference in Hollywood, north of Miami, at 9:00 a.m. EST.
Clonaid is viewed skeptically by most scientists, who doubt the group's technical ability to clone a human being. A Clonaid spokeswoman said an independent expert will confirm the baby is a clone through DNA testing.
Cattle, mice, sheep and other animals have been cloned with mixed success. Some animals have displayed defects later in life. Scientists fear the same could happen with cloned humans.
Clonaid is led by Brigitte Boisselier, a former deputy director of research at the Air Liquide Group, a French producer of industrial and medical gases.
Clonaid is linked to a sect called the Raelians, whose founder, Claude Vorihon, describes himself as a prophet and calls himself Rael. The group believes cloning could extend human life for hundreds of years.
Clonaid has been racing the Italian fertility doctor Severion Antinori to produce the first cloned baby. Antinori said last month he expected one of his patients to give birth to a cloned baby in January.
President Bush has asked Congress to ban the creation of cloned babies as well as the cloning of human embryos for medical research. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a ban, but a similar bill in the Senate stalled after scientists argued such a law would hinder medical advances.
The Clonaid spokeswoman, Nadine Gary, said the baby had been born outside the United States, but she declined to say exactly where.
Non-profit and public interest groups have lined up on both sides of the controversy. Early Friday morning, anticipating the announcement from Clonaid, a Chicago-based organization called the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity said it condemned the Clonaid effort.
"Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, the fact that renegade scientists are apparently continuing to work to clone human beings despite the proven dangers of mammalian cloning shows that the United States and the rest of the world need to pass a complete ban on this dangerous and unethical procedure as soon as possible," said C. Ben Mitchell, a senior fellow at the center.
The Raelians, who claim 55,000 followers around the world, believe life on Earth was sparked by extraterrestrials who arrived 25,000 years ago and created humans through cloning.
Reuters News Service
Posted Dec. 27, 2002 (Hollywood, Fla.) -- A company associated with a group that believes extraterrestrials created mankind was set to announce Friday that it had produced the first clone of a human being.
The company, Clonaid, was to announce at a news conference later Friday that it had cloned a baby girl who appeared to have been born healthy. The company said it would hold a news conference in Hollywood, north of Miami, at 9:00 a.m. EST.
Clonaid is viewed skeptically by most scientists, who doubt the group's technical ability to clone a human being. A Clonaid spokeswoman said an independent expert will confirm the baby is a clone through DNA testing.
Cattle, mice, sheep and other animals have been cloned with mixed success. Some animals have displayed defects later in life. Scientists fear the same could happen with cloned humans.
Clonaid is led by Brigitte Boisselier, a former deputy director of research at the Air Liquide Group, a French producer of industrial and medical gases.
Clonaid is linked to a sect called the Raelians, whose founder, Claude Vorihon, describes himself as a prophet and calls himself Rael. The group believes cloning could extend human life for hundreds of years.
Clonaid has been racing the Italian fertility doctor Severion Antinori to produce the first cloned baby. Antinori said last month he expected one of his patients to give birth to a cloned baby in January.
President Bush has asked Congress to ban the creation of cloned babies as well as the cloning of human embryos for medical research. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a ban, but a similar bill in the Senate stalled after scientists argued such a law would hinder medical advances.
The Clonaid spokeswoman, Nadine Gary, said the baby had been born outside the United States, but she declined to say exactly where.
Non-profit and public interest groups have lined up on both sides of the controversy. Early Friday morning, anticipating the announcement from Clonaid, a Chicago-based organization called the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity said it condemned the Clonaid effort.
"Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, the fact that renegade scientists are apparently continuing to work to clone human beings despite the proven dangers of mammalian cloning shows that the United States and the rest of the world need to pass a complete ban on this dangerous and unethical procedure as soon as possible," said C. Ben Mitchell, a senior fellow at the center.
The Raelians, who claim 55,000 followers around the world, believe life on Earth was sparked by extraterrestrials who arrived 25,000 years ago and created humans through cloning.
