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CNN Saturday Morning News
A Closer Look At History of Cloning
Aired December 28, 2002 - 09:10 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there are not only ethical questions about human cloning, there are also some medical concerns. In animals, the technology often produces extremely unhealthy specimens, to say the least.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer gives us a closer look at the history of cloning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1997, when Dolly was introduced to the world, cloning became a household word. Within a month, President Clinton bans the use of federal funds for human cloning. That same year, Richard Seed (ph) announced his plans to clone a human, and passions began to rise about this brave new world.
Cows and monkeys were cloned. And the cloning of pigs brought hopes of growing organs for humans.
DR. ANTHONY PERRY, ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY: The goal here is, as I said, to reduce the shortage of organs for transplantation and prevent one -- any more needless deaths that arise because people simply don't receive the organ that they need.
BLITZER: Then in July 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all types of cloning. The Senate never followed.
Although Richard Seed hasn't produced a human clone, the race was on between several groups, including Clonaid, to clone a human for reproduction. By this time, the cloning field was splitting between those who wanted to clone for reproduction and those who wanted to clone for medical reasons, not allowing the embryo to develop, simply using the stem cells it created to make better medicine.
In 2001, a Massachusetts company called Advanced Cell Technologies, a company specializing in stem cell research, did just that, promising they would never use their science to create a baby. Not everyone followed suit.
BRIGITTE BOISSELIER, CEO, CLONAID: I'm very, very pleased to announce the first baby clone is born. She was born yesterday at 11:55 a.m.
BLITZER: Now, Advanced Cell Technologies is criticizing Clonaid for announcing they had done what most of the scientific community sees as appalling. DR. ROBERT LANZA, ADVANCED CELL TECHNOLOGIES: Without any scientific data, one has to be very, very skeptical. The -- this is a group, again, that has no scientific track record, they have never published a single scientific paper in this area, they have no research experience in this area. In fact, they've never even cloned a mouse or a rabbit.
BLITZER: Experts demand independent proof the baby is indeed a clone, and Clonaid says that will be coming in eight to nine days.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 28, 2002 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there are not only ethical questions about human cloning, there are also some medical concerns. In animals, the technology often produces extremely unhealthy specimens, to say the least.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer gives us a closer look at the history of cloning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1997, when Dolly was introduced to the world, cloning became a household word. Within a month, President Clinton bans the use of federal funds for human cloning. That same year, Richard Seed (ph) announced his plans to clone a human, and passions began to rise about this brave new world.
Cows and monkeys were cloned. And the cloning of pigs brought hopes of growing organs for humans.
DR. ANTHONY PERRY, ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY: The goal here is, as I said, to reduce the shortage of organs for transplantation and prevent one -- any more needless deaths that arise because people simply don't receive the organ that they need.
BLITZER: Then in July 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all types of cloning. The Senate never followed.
Although Richard Seed hasn't produced a human clone, the race was on between several groups, including Clonaid, to clone a human for reproduction. By this time, the cloning field was splitting between those who wanted to clone for reproduction and those who wanted to clone for medical reasons, not allowing the embryo to develop, simply using the stem cells it created to make better medicine.
In 2001, a Massachusetts company called Advanced Cell Technologies, a company specializing in stem cell research, did just that, promising they would never use their science to create a baby. Not everyone followed suit.
BRIGITTE BOISSELIER, CEO, CLONAID: I'm very, very pleased to announce the first baby clone is born. She was born yesterday at 11:55 a.m.
BLITZER: Now, Advanced Cell Technologies is criticizing Clonaid for announcing they had done what most of the scientific community sees as appalling. DR. ROBERT LANZA, ADVANCED CELL TECHNOLOGIES: Without any scientific data, one has to be very, very skeptical. The -- this is a group, again, that has no scientific track record, they have never published a single scientific paper in this area, they have no research experience in this area. In fact, they've never even cloned a mouse or a rabbit.
BLITZER: Experts demand independent proof the baby is indeed a clone, and Clonaid says that will be coming in eight to nine days.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
