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January 24, 2001

Britain allows scientists to clone human embryos

Wanted to beat France: Benefits of stem cell research outweigh concerns over ethics

Brad Evenson

National Post

In a free vote, Britain's House of Lords has approved new regulations that allow

 medical researchers to clone human embryos.

The decision puts Britain at the cutting edge of research in the promising field of stem

 cells, cells found in embryos that can grow into any kind of human tissue.

In a speech in favour of the vote, fertility expert Lord Winston assured the House the

 benefits far outweigh the ethical drawbacks of creating human life for

 experimentation.

"There is no doubt that on your vote, my Lords, depends whether some people in the

 near future get the treatment which might save them from disease or, even worse,

 death," he said.

And while critics call the decision an intrusion into the sanctity of human life, experts

 say France is likely to pass similar regulations soon.

Britain, which pioneered the field of in vitro fertilization, has always been at the

 forefront of reproductive research.

The current changes relax rules that limit the use of human embryos set out in the

 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, which allowed research only on

 donated embryos.

Researchers will now be able to use embryos to probe the medical potential of stem

 cells, which some scientists predict could be used to grow new cells in the body,

 treating such maladies as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and even re-grow severed

 spinal cords.

The relaxing of British regulations comes at a time when the United States, under

 President George W. Bush, is expected to tighten its policies on the use of

 embryonic tissue.

Under U.S. laws, public funds can only support stem cell research when the embryos

 come from in vitro clinics where they were slated for destruction.

In private U.S. laboratories, however, reports say scientists have already cloned

 human tissue for research purposes.

In Canada, the federal government is assembling a committee to advise it on a new

 stem cell policy.

Currently, publicly funded stem cell research is conducted on cells culled from

 umbilical cords.

Under the new British regulations, researchers would be able to clone a human being,

 allowing the embryo to grow for 14 days, the point at which a rudimentary nervous

 system, spine and other features begin to grow.

Cells extracted from this cloned embryo would be placed in laboratory cultures, where

 chemicals spur them to grow into specialized tissues for transplant or research.

Ethicists say the moral outrage such research provokes is understandable.

"The crucial moral issue is whether life does begin at fertilization -- and more so, if this

 life is to be considered full human life with all its moral considerations," Abdallah

 Daar, a professor of bio-ethics at the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for

Bioethics

 and a member of the Human Genome Organization Ethics Committee.

"There will always be disagreement on this, which is why in the long run it is important

 to focus on deriving stem cells from less contentious sources."

RELATED SITES:
(Each link opens a new window)

·  Writing the Book of Life: The Human Genome Project
A National Post special feature.

·  National Human Genome Research Institute
Centre of the vast effort to map the Human Genome.

·  Human Genome Project Information
A basic survey of the project, the science behind the project, and the project's intent.

·  Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Human Genetic Research
Also known as ELSI, this wing of the Human Genome Project is designed to ensure that scientific discoveries don't speed past their ethical implications, as in the early days of eugenics and race theory.

·  The DNA Files
A U.S. National Public Radio special on Genetic Sciences. It's a good place to begin if you're unsure of the basics of DNA.

·  Clonaid
Biotech company has received funding to clone a baby who died at 10 months of age.

·  Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism
An organization that is highly wary of the intentions of the scientists and bureaucrats behind genetic research and technologies. Read the full array of their arguments against genetically modified foods and the protection of remains against biopiracy.

·  Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement
Travel back a century to the birth of the eugenics movement, a time of scientific positivism some say led to Nazi race theories in Germany and primitive genetic discrimination in the U.S. Will similar traps and fallacies sway us in our time?

·  The Council for Responsible Genetics
A watchdog group that monitors the social impact of biotechnology.

·  Genethics Literature
A University of British Columbia-based archive of essays on controversial topics in genetics. Plain but extensive, and representative of widely varying viewpoints.

·  Genomics Lexicon
A pharmaceutical organization's gathering of terms relevant to the understanding of genomics.

·  Toward a Philosophy of Science and Technology
An anonymous essay discussing the major critics of unbridled technology, with specific reference to the Human Genome Project.

·  Top 50 Titles in Genetics
A good platform for further reading in genetics.

·  The Maize Genome Database
Humans aren't the only ones who are having their genes sequenced.

·  Genome FAQs
Full of fascinating tidbits, such as why the U.S. Department of Energy helps fund the Human Genome project.