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American Morning
Second Group Claims To Have Cloned Human Embryos
Aired November 27, 2001 - 08:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back at just about 23 minutes after the hour. Time now to turn the debate -- turn to the debate over cloning.
It didn't take long for things to heat up after the weekend announcement that a Massachusetts company created the first human embryos through cloning. Well now another lab is making a claim that's creating even more controversy.
Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has an update from CNN Center.
Good morning, Elizabeth. How are you doing this morning?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula, doing just fine.
Paula, that first group that you mentioned, they created embryos that were achieved through cloning. But they said, look, we want to keep this at a microscopic stage. We don't want these embryos to become babies.
However, CNN has learned that a group that does fully intend to clone a human being also claims to have embryos, and they fully intend to take these embryos, put them into a woman's uterus and create a baby.
As a matter of fact, this group says that their embryos are at a further advanced stage, a more advanced stage than the first group. As a matter of fact, they say their embryos are at a stage called a blastocyst.
Let's hear from their scientific director.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGITTE BOISSELIER, RAELIAN MOVEMENT SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR: We are indeed doing human embryos, human clone embryos, and we have many divisions. At the beginning we had only a few. Now it's more.
And we do have blastocysts, but I will not tell you whether there have been any implantation or if there is any pregnancy.
I'm working hard. And the team is very dedicated so that we can produce and show to the world a very healthy child, a very healthy cloned child, a desired one and a loved one very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now let's take a look. Here you see the embryo that this group says that they've created, or you hear what, you see what they say is an embryo. It is a clump of cells, like all embryos are in the beginning.
Let's tell you a little bit about this group. They're called the Raelians. They call themselves a religion. They're led by a man named Rael. And this group believes that all human life is descended from aliens. There's Rael there in the middle. You see him with the beard.
So of course, some people question whether or not they really do have the scientific know-how. Here you see they were at a meeting last summer that they invited us to attend. They called it their white ball for obvious reasons.
I want to make an important note here, which is that this group has not published their work, and we have no way of confirming their claims to actually have these embryos.
Now, they're not the only ones who want to clone a human being. There's also another group which is led by a fertility specialist named Panos Zavos. He says that he does not have embryos yet that would be suitable for making a cloned human being, but he hopes to in the next few months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PANOS ZAVOS, FERTILITY EXPERT: We will not, and I am saying this to the world to know, that we will not attempt to transfer those cloned embryos in the uteri of women for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy, unless we are completely convinced -- completely convinced -- that those embryos are healthy enough to carry on with a healthy pregnancy, and the birth of a healthy child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now these two groups, for obvious reasons, have drawn much fire, both really for ethical reasons and for people who say that carrying a clone would not be healthy for the mother and would not be healthy for that child, either. Paula?
ZAHN: Fascinating stuff. Thanks, Elizabeth.
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