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LAWS OF SCIENCE
Should Congress ban cloning through legislation? February 24, 1998 |
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NewsHour Backgrounders
January 8, 1998
Dr. Richard Seed announced he will go ahead with human cloning experiments.
December 29, 1997
A year-end report on remarkable changes in reproductive technology.
March 5, 1997
First a sheep was cloned, then a monkey, but if President Clinton has his way a human isn't next.
February 24, 1997:
Elizabeth Farnsworth leads a discussion of the science that lead to Dolly, the Scottish sheep cloned from another.
February 24, 1997:
Jim Lehrer discusses the ethics of cloning with a panel of bioethicists.
February 24, 1997:
A NewsHour background report on Dolly and cloning.
Browse the NewsHour's coverage of science
OUTSIDE LINKS:
Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland report on cloning sheep.
The Genetics and Public Issues Program at The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) discusses cloning.
Discussion of Ethics and Social Issues in Gene Research at the Human Genome Project.
University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics
The Online NewsHour asks: The news of Dr. Wilmut's successful cloning of a sheep was met with reactions ranging from intrigue to alarm. How did you view Dr. Wilmut's announcement?
Prof. Alta Charo responds:
Intrigue. The potential of this discovery for medical advances in areas ranging from limb and organ regeneration to cell-based therapy for incurable, degenerative neurological disorders is the stuff of science fiction hope and fantasy. Plus, the sheer joy of discovering that previous assumptions about the unidirectional nature of cell differentiation were wrong is the essence of the scientific endeavor.
Sen. Kit Bond responds:
After Dolly the Sheep was cloned last spring, scientists said it would be a long time before the technology could be used to clone human beings. Nevertheless, Richard Seed has announced that he is prepared to go forward with his human cloning effort. He has the facility; he has the researchers, and he is working hard to raise the necessary money. It is past time for Congress to draw the line on human cloning and to say, through legislation, that we will not permit science to experiment in this area. The time to cut it off is BEFORE it has occurred.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein responds:
The successful cloning of "Dolly" last year in Scotland, using a procedure known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, was hailed as an amazing scientific success. But Dr. Wilmut's announcement of his cloned sheep also ignited a fierce international debate about the potential use of this technique to clone human beings, and the ethical, legal and religious questions raised by such a possibility.
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