Dennis M. Sullivan, MD, MA (Ethics)Professor of Biology
Director, Center for BioethicsCedarville University
Center Web site:www.cedarville.edu/bioethics
E-mail: [email protected]
Objectives
To review the current context of the human cloning debate, especially as it relates to embryo-destructive research
To describe recent attempts to craft a legal barrier to biomedical extremism in Ohio
President Obama Speech (3/9/09):Changing the NIH Funding Policy for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Today, with the Executive Order I am about to sign, we will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past eight years: we will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research . . .
At this moment, the full promise of stem cell research remains unknown, and it should not be overstated . . .
When government fails to make these investments, opportunities are missed. Promising avenues go unexplored . . .
[W]e [will] make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.
Robert George& Christopher Tollefsen:On January 16, 2007, a remarkable journey came to an
end . . . Sixteen months earlier, Noah Benton Markham’s life had been jeopardized by the winds and rain of Hurricane Katrina. Trapped in a flooded hospital in New Orleans, Noah depended upon the timely work of [many rescuers] to take him to safety . . .
Noah’s story of rescue is . . . one of many inspirational tales of heroism from that national disaster.
What, then, makes it unique? And why did the story of his rescue end sixteen months after the events of September 2006?
The answer: Noah [was] one of the youngest residents of New Orleans to be saved from Katrina . . .
A Difference in Perspective:According to the first narrative:
Frozen human embryos are a means to an endThey are valuable for the good they might
provide for othersBased on highly speculative research that has
yet to cure a single human illness
A Difference in Perspective (cont.):According to the second narrative:
Frozen human embryos are ends in themselvesAn embryo is “a whole living member of the
species Homo sapiens in the earliest stage of his or her natural development.”*
If not implanted: A tragedy Human beings whom no one will love They will never have a name
* Embryo: A Defense of Human Life, by RP George and C Tollefsen
Embryo-Destructive Research: Promising Dream or Cynical Lie?
Welcome to the Clone Wars . . .
“A long time ago, in a fertility lab far away . . .”
Louise Joy Brown was bornJuly 25, 1978 (Great Britain)Beginning of modern reproductive technologies
Ethical oversight was minimal
Assisted Reproductive Technologyin vitro fertilization (IVF)
hyperstimulation of ovaries with powerful hormones
follow progress with ultrasoundharvest eggs, then fertilize some or all5 day development of embryosimplantation of 2-4 embryosfreezing of excess remaining embryos
“Left-Over” EmbryosFrozen Embryos
How many embryos in cryopreservation canisters?
U.S. alone: 600,000Worldwide: who really knows?
Basis of a contentious national debateSource of embryonic stem cells
Used to potentially grow new tissues and organs
May help treat chronic diseasesDiabetes, Parkinson’s, heart disease, spinal
cord injuries
The Rest of the StoryHow many embryos are actually available?
Only a small % of the 600K could be used for research
80% are still held for possible future implantation
10% are donated for implantation in othersOnly 10% available for research
10% is not enough!Therefore, embryo-destructive research is a
“black hole” human cloning
Building the Concept of PersonhoodPerson: A member of the moral
community (Beckwith). Implies:
ValueInviolability
Potential Candidates:(Some or all) human beingsGod and purely spiritual beingsIntelligent Martians (if they exist)Higher animals, “intelligent” robots
(controversial)
Human PersonhoodKey question:
Is the category “human person” coextensive with the category “human being?”
If yes, then there is no such thing as a human non-person
If no, then: some human beings are not persons (or at least) human personhood can exist in
gradations or degrees
Conception view of personhoodA human being is a person from the
moment of conception and at every subsequent moment.
Human personhood corresponds with biological humanhood
Moral value is intrinsic, and begins at the earliest moment of biological life
The First Six Days of Life
Some Key TermsGametes: sperm or eggFertilization: union of sperm and eggZygote: a “one-celled” embryo (right after
fertilization)Embryo: up until 8 weeks of development
Three Clear Scientific Reasons: The embryo is distinct
Not the same entity as gametes that led to it Biological life begins here
The embryo is human From fertilization, 46 chromosomes Genetic makeup of human beings (“When does human life begin?” is not the
question) The embryo is complete
“a whole living member” of our species in the earliest stage of development
All that is needed: time and nutrition to grow into an adult member of our species
Cloning Defined . . .The nucleus (containing the genetic code)is
removed from a somatic (body) cell (e.g., a skin cell)
This is inserted into a human egg with its own DNA removed (enucleated)
Called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)Stimulated to grow by a chemical or electric signalThis mimics natural fertilizationThe result looks very much like a human embryoIf allowed to develop and implant, theoretically
could become a normal baby
Natural FertilizationNatural Fertilization
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Reproductive CloningCloning as a form of assisted reproductive
technology, like IVFThe resulting baby would be a genetically
identical twin to the person whose DNA created it
Examples?Exhibit A: DollyExhibit B: Has this been donein humans?
Dr. Panayiotis Zavos2001: teamed up with Italian embryologist Severino Antinori
ten women lined up for clonesnever verified
2004: claimed he implanted a cloned embryo into a 35 year-old womanclone of her husbandnever verified
2006: claimed to have cloned and implanted into five womenone was a Britonnever verified
Now working in a “secret lab” in the Middle East
Why this is all so sick . . .Not even remotely safe
Cloning Dolly took 277 attemptsDolly lived 6 years, euthanized after premature
agingIn humans, a huge toll of birth defects would
resultNo responsible health organization,
physicians group, or reputable research institution favors rep. cloning
“Therapeutic” Cloning
The Heart of the Clone Wars:
“Our intention is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to make life-saving therapies for a wide range of human disease conditions, including diabetes, strokes, cancer, AIDS, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.” Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology
[We are] speaking as individuals and scientists. I’m not an expert in ethics.Michael West, President, Advanced Cell
Technology
Human cloning has only been done once . . .
Dr. Samuel Wood, January, 2008Californian research company StemagenUsed DNA from his own skin cells
Ethical Objections“Therapeutic Cloning” is a euphemism
There are currently no therapies availableThere are many complications“Research Cloning” is the more appropriate phrase
Research cloning destroys human livesThere are many other alternatives
Adult stem cells therapies are numerous and successful
These are currently being used to save livesNew horizon: iPS cells
The Ohio Experience
March, 2008:Testimony before the Senate Civil Justice
Committee
Reflections . . .The attitude towards any restrictions on
research OSUCincinnati Children’sCWRU
Politics and 8th grade biology“From your religious viewpoint . . .”The “half a loaf” planHow it all ended
Update: 2009Meeting last spring with research scientistsThe surprising resultsThe present climate
Banning Cloning Should be an easy “Slam-Dunk”
94% of all Americans support a banThere is absolutely no reason to oppose itA ban would send a clear signal to the people
of Ohio that there are some lines we should not cross
If hospitals and scientists support a ban, this would encourage donors and patients alike
A good result for everyoneThis is a battle we should win
After all, the Real “Force” is With Us
BibliographyCondic ML, “Life: Defining the Beginning by the End,” First
Things, May, 2003 (link).George RP & C Tollefsen, Embryo: A Defense of Human
Life, Doubleday, 2008.Kreeft P, Human Personhood Begins at Conception,
Castello Institute of Stafford, Stafford, Virginia, 1997, (link).
Lee P & RP George, "The First Fourteen Days of Human Life," The New Atlantis, Number 13, Summer 2006, pp. 61-67 (link).
Sullivan DM, “The Conception View of Personhood,” Ethics and Medicine 19:1, 2003 (link).
Dennis M. Sullivan, MD, MA (Ethics)Professor of Biology
Director, Center for BioethicsCedarville University
Center Web site:www.cedarville.edu/bioethics
E-mail: [email protected]
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