Just wondering …
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Local - New York Daily News
Pair wants cloned baby
Tue Aug 13, 7:19 AM ET
By DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A childless couple took to the airwaves last night to defend their
dream to become the parents of the world's first cloned baby.
With voices disguised and faces fuzzed out, the two defiantly told
CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight" they're determined to have a cloned baby
no matter what the world thinks of the controversial procedure.
"We're on the cutting edge and the beginning of a brave new world,"
said the would-be father, identified only as Bill. "It's something
really wonderful, adventurous."
But they turned deadly serious when they vowed to end the pregnancy
if the fetus shows signs of deformities.
"We're not going to give birth to a monster or an abnormal child,"
said Bill. "If there is a serious abnormality, absolutely … we will
abort."
The baby would be an exact genetic match of the mother, identified as
Kathy, and carried by a surrogate mom.
The camera panned from behind as the couple, who have tried to have a
baby for nine years, walked romantically on the beach and held hands
in a backyard.
Unidentified country
They plan to travel to an unidentified country next month to attempt
to conceive a child under the guidance of controversial cloning
advocate Panos Zavos. He said five other couples also are
participating in the first trial.
If all goes well, they might try again.
"God willing, if this works, maybe two years from now, we'll clone
me," said Bill, a high school teacher in his 50s.
"Why not? Instant family," added Kathy.
The couple dismissed the idea of adopting a child from overseas.
Kathy said the orphans are often "so messed up in the orphanage …
that you're taking on a health hazard."
"There's also nothing wrong with wanting your own, and having that
right," Bill added.
Even with the risks, Zavos predicted he will "hit a home run" with
the couple. "The public will realize this is not as monstrous as it
sounds," he said. "Once they see a baby dressed in pink or blue they
will say, 'What a wonderful thing.'"
Too risky, others warn
But other doctors have a message for the couple: Don't roll the dice.
They warn that the couple, who live in the northeastern United
States, is experimenting with an untested and extremely risky
procedure that could produce a grotesquely stunted baby - or a
disease-riddled living experiment.
"We are right up to the level of barbaric experimentation," said Art
Caplan, who heads the University of Pennsylvania's Center for
Bioethics. "You simply can't risk a dead or deformed baby 50% of the
time."
Even successful cloning efforts like the one that produced Dolly the
sheep in 1997 took 200 tries before a cloned embryo was implanted.
Cloned animals have suffered major health problems, including
premature aging, rapid growth and succeptibility to heart and lung
diseases. Dolly, for instance, already has arthritis.
"People are willing to accept maimed cows, sheep or mice," said Tom
Murray of the Hastings Institute, a bioethics research group. "But I
would hope people would not accept that in a human child."
Experts also warn that most medical problems won't turn up on any tests.
Human cloning soon may be banned in the U.S. President Bush ( news -
web sites) wants a permanent ban on cloning for biomedical research
and reproduction. The House passed a similar bill last year, but
rival cloning measures are stalled in the Senate.
Is this a YESMEN stunt?
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Type: discussion