NATIONAL AMERICAN HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
CLONING
HUMAN CLONING
from our friends at
Children of God for Life
THE MYTHS VS THE FACTS!
MYTH NO. 1:
THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THERAPEUTIC AND REPRODUCTIVE CLONING
FACT:
THE DISTINCTION BEING MADE BETWEEN SO CALLED "THERAPEUTIC" CLONING AND REPRODUCTIVE CLONING IS COMPLETELY FALSE. IN BOTH CASES, THEY RESULT IN THE REPRODUCTION OF A NEW LIVING HUMAN BEING - AN EMBRYO. THE ONLY REAL DIFFERENCE IS HOW THEY ARE BEING USED AFTER THEY ARE PRODUCED. REPRODUCTIVE CLONING MEANS THE NEW EMBRYO IS REPRODUCED, IMPLANTED IN THE WOMB AND BROUGHT TO FULL TERM. THERAPEUTIC CLONING MEANS THE NEW EMBRYO IS REPRODUCED AND THEN INTENTIONALLY KILLED FOR HIS OR HER STEM CELLS.
MYTH NO. 2:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING DOES NOT USE A REAL EMBRYO - IT IS ONLY A BUNCH OF STEM CELLS, AN UNFERTILIZED EGG, A "PRE-EMBRYO".
FACT:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING DOES USE A REAL EMBRYO! ALL REPRODUCTION BEGINS WITH AN UNFERTILIZED EGG AND PRODUCES A NEW LIVING HUMAN BEING, WHETHER THAT IS DONE IN NATURAL REPRODUCTION, IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION REPRODUCTION OR CLONING. (PHOTOS OF EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT) TO SAY THAT THESE NEWLY FORMED EMBRYOS ARE ONLY A BUNCH OF CELLS DENIES THE SCIENTIFIC FACT THAT A NEW HUMAN LIFE BEGINS AT FERTILIZATION. FURTHER, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "PRE-EMBRYO" (SEE EMBRYOLOGY TEXT QUOTES BELOW)
MYTH NO. 3:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING INVOLVES A DIFFERENT SCIENCE CALLED SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER (SCNT) TO CREATE CELLS, TISSUES OR ORGANS - NOT AN EMBRYO!
FACT:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING DOES NOT INVOLVE A DIFFERENT SCIENCE! BOTH THERAPEUTIC AND REPRODUCTIVE CLONING USES SCNT, WHICH IS ONLY ONE OF MANY CLONING TECHNIQUES, EACH OF WHICH REPRODUCE A NEW HUMAN BEING. IN FACT, SCNT IS THE EXACT METHOD USED TO PRODUCE DOLLY THE SHEEP. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT RATHER THAN IMPLANTING THE EMBRYO INTO A WOMB, ONE WOULD HARVEST THOSE CELLS, TISSUES OR ORGANS AT EITHER THE EMBRYONIC OR FETAL STAGE, WHICH OF COURSE DESTROYS THE BABY IN THE PROCESS.
MYTH NO. 4:
ONLY REPRODUCTIVE CLONING REPRODUCES A HUMAN BEING BECAUSE A HUMAN EMBRYO DOES NOT BEGIN UNTIL IMPLANTATION IN THE WOMB.
FACT:
NEW LIVING HUMAN EMBRYOS ARE IMMEDIATELY REPRODUCED IN BOTH THERAPEUTIC AND REPRODUCTIVE CLONING. IMPLANTATION SIMPLY ALLOWS THESE ALREADY EXISTING HUMANS TO GROW BIGGER AND BE EITHER BORN OR HARVESTED FOR ORGANS AND BODY PARTS. THE LIE THAT "LIFE BEGINS AT IMPLANTATION" IS AN OLD ONE - USED BY THOSE WHO ALSO SUPPORT CONTRACEPTION, RU-486 AND THE MORNING-AFTER PILL.
MYTH NO. 5:
"THERAPEUTIC CLONING-ONLY" LAWS WOULD PREVENT HUMAN BEINGS FROM BEING BROUGHT TO FULL TERM
FACT:
ONCE THE EMBRYO IS PRODUCED IN THE LAB, IT IS INEVITABLE THAT IMPLANTATION WILL BE ATTEMPTED. SUCH LAWS WOULD THEN HAVE TO LEGALLY REQUIRE ABORTIONS TO BE PERFORMED IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE CHILD FROM BEING BORN. THESE NEW ABORTION LAWS WOULD CONVENIENTLY ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS UP TO VARIOUS STAGES OF GESTATION IN ORDER TO HARVEST SPECIFIC ORGANS AND TISSUES.
MYTH NO. 6:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING CAN HELP TREAT MAJOR DISEASES AND SAVE LIVES
FACT:
THERAPEUTIC CLONING IS NOTHING MORE THAN A WAY TO BYPASS BUSH'S LAW GOVERNING LIMITED FEDERAL FUNDING OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH. FURTHERMORE, TO DATE THERE HAS NOT BEEN ONE SINGLE CURE USING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS - THE TRUE PROGRESS IS BEING MADE WITH ADULT STEM CELLS!
MYTH NO. 7
THE CURRENT BILLS PENDING TO BAN BOTH REPRODUCTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC CLONING WILL PREVENT THE CREATION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS THAT COULD BE BROUGHT TO FULL TERM OR USED FOR RESEARCH
FACT:
THERE IS NOT ONE FEDERAL OR STATE BILL THAT ACTUALLY BANS CLONING AT ALL. THE BILLS DO NOT DEFINE CLONING PROPERLY, DO NOT DEFINE SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER (SCNT) PROPERLY, NOR DO THEY INCLUDE SEVERAL OTHER METHODS OF CLONING, SUCH AS TWINNING, BLASTOCYST SPLITTING, PRO-NUCLEI TRANSFER OR GERM CELL LINE TRANSFER. WHATEVER IS INCORRECT OR MISSING IN A BILL, THE BILL DOES NOT APPLY TO IT. THAT IS, THE BILL WOULD ALLOW IT! NOR WOULD IT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE CONDITIONS OR PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING THE LAW. WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS! REVIEW THE PROBLEMS WITH THE BROWNBACK/WELDON SB245 FEDERAL BILL, PURPORTED TO BAN ALL CLONING.
- GET THE FACTS - UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH-
IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION AND CLONING - STEP-BY-STEP-IN PICTURES!
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SAMPLES OF SOME OF THE OTHER TYPES OF CLONING - ALL OF WHICH CAN BE USED TO EITHER ASEXUALLY PRODUCE A CHILD OR TO HARVEST STEM CELLS, TISSUES AND ORGANS BY DESTROYING THE EMBRYO.
GERM LINE CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER
There are two different kinds of cells in the human body: somatic cells and germ line cells. "Somatic cells" are the "body" cells; "germ line cells" are the reproductive cells. Both cells are diploid ("46" chromosomes") until maturity, and thus can be cloned by nuclear transfer. Therefore there are two kinds of nuclear transfer cloning techniques: (1) somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) as discussed above, and (2) germ line cell nuclear transfer (GLCNT). Just as in SCNT, in GLCNT the diploid nucleus of the germ line cell is transferred to an enucleated oocyte ("egg") and the cell is stimulated chemically or electrically, causing a reprogramming of the DNA in the cell which results in the conversion of this "cell" into a new human "organism" - a new human embryo (human being). Any diploid germ line cell at any stage of maturity can be cloned by nuclear transfer.
TWINNING
Cloning by means of twinning requires that a cell be totipotent (capable of forming a new embryo under certain conditions). There is a range of "totipotency" in the cells of the early human embryo, so there are several kinds of "twinning" possible, depending on the age of the embryo: "blasomere separation" and "blasotcyst splitting". A "blastomere" is just the name given to any cell of the embryo from the 2-cell stage up to the 5-7 days blastocyst stage. They are all totipotent, but as long as they are part of the whole embryo they will not revert to new embryos. However, once a totipotent blastomere is separated from the whole embryo, then it is possible for it to be reverted to a new human embryo that is genetically "identical" to the original embryo. This is "twinning" by means of "blastomere separation". One can also "twin" by means of splitting the older 5-7 day blastocyst, because many of the cells of the inner cell mass of the blastocyst are also totipotent. Therefore, once the embryo is split into groups of cells, these cells, or groups of cells, too are capable of possibly reverting to new embryos. This is "twinning" by means of "blastocyst splitting". Both mechanisms result in monozygotic twins. Unlike cloning by means of nuclear transfer, this is a more exact kind of cloning, as both the nuclear genetic material and the mitochondrial genetic material outside the nucleus are the same in both "twins". Both kinds of "twinning" are advertised by IVF centers as a means of "embryo multiplication" - which could not only reproduce new embryos for infertility "therapy", but also for pure research purposes only.
PRO-NUCLEI TRANSFER
This is a kind of cloning technique that involves the transferring of parts of a nucleus (molecules of DNA), rather than the whole nucleus, and is performed using micro-techniques refined in transgenic and in IVF research for decades. "Haploid" refers to "23" chromosomes (half the number required for a human being). "Pronuclei" are the haploid male and haploid female chromosomes formed at the very beginning of fertilization in the newly fertilized oocyte before they come together to form the zygote. Because the male and female pro-nuclei are still separate from each other, they can be individually removed and transferred to an enucleated oocyte ("egg") to clone a new human being. For example, one could take the male pro-nucleus from one IVF-reproduced human embryo and transfer it to an enucleated oocyte. One could then take the female pro-nucleus from a different IVF-reproduced human embryo and transfer it to the same enucleated oocyte. Once this cell is chemically or electrically stimulated, it could cause the pronuclei to come together and form the new zygote. This would reproduce a human/human chimera - a human being derived from two different human embryos.
Secular Literature on Cloning
Introduction
The possibility of human cloning, raised when Scottish scientists at Roslin Institute created the much-celebrated sheep "Dolly" (Nature 385, 810-13, 1997), aroused worldwide interest and concern because of its scientific and ethical implications. The feat, cited by Science magazine as the breakthrough of 1997, also generated uncertainty over the meaning of "cloning" --an umbrella term traditionally used by scientists to describe different processes for duplicating biological material.
What is cloning? Are there different types of cloning?
When the media report on cloning in the news, they are usually talking about only one type called reproductive cloning. There are different types of cloning however, and cloning technologies can be used for other purposes besides producing the genetic twin of another organism. A basic understanding of the different types of cloning is key to taking an informed stance on current public policy issues and making the best possible personal decisions. The following three types of cloning technologies will be discussed: (1) recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, (2) reproductive cloning, and (3) therapeutic cloning.
Recombinant DNA Technology or DNA Cloning
The terms "recombinant DNA technology," "DNA cloning," "molecular cloning,"or "gene cloning" all refer to the same process: the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid. The DNA of interest can then be propagated in a foreign host cell. This technology has been around since the 1970s, and it has become a common practice in molecular biology labs today.
Scientists studying a particular gene often use bacterial plasmids to generate multiple copies of the same gene. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome (see image to the right). Plasmids and other types of cloning vectors are used by Human Genome Project researchers to copy genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate enough identical material for further study.
To "clone a gene," a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes. When the fragment of chromosomal DNA is joined with its cloning vector in the lab, it is called a "recombinant DNA molecule." Following introduction into suitable host cells, the recombinant DNA can then be reproduced along with the host cell DNA. See a diagram depicting this process.
Plasmids can carry up to 20,000 bp of foreign DNA. Besides bacterial plasmids, some other cloning vectors include viruses, bacteria artificial chromosomes (BACs), and yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). Cosmids are artificially constructed cloning vectors that carry up to 45 kb of foreign DNA and can be packaged in lambda phage particles for infection into E. coli cells. BACs utilize the naturally occurring F-factor plasmid found in E. coli to carry 100 to 300 kb DNA inserts. A YAC is a functional chromosome derived from yeast that can carry up to 1 MB of foreign DNA. Bacteria are most often used as the host cells for recombinant DNA molecules, but yeast and mammalian cells also are used.
Reproductive Cloning
Reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal. Dolly was created by reproductive cloning technology. In a process called "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT), scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a donor adult cell to an egg whose nucleus, and thus its genetic material, has been removed. The reconstructed egg containing the DNA from a donor cell must be treated with chemicals or electric current in order to stimulate cell division. Once the cloned embryo reaches a suitable stage, it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until birth.
Dolly or any other animal created using nuclear transfer technology is not truly an identical clone of the donor animal. Only the clone's chromosomal or nuclear DNA is the same as the donor. Some of the clone's genetic materials come from the mitochondria in the cytoplasm of the enucleated egg. Mitochondria, which are organelles that serve as power sources to the cell, contain their own short segments of DNA. Acquired mutations in mitochondrial DNA are believed to play an important role in the aging process.
Dolly's success is truly remarkable because it proved that the genetic material from a specialized adult cell, such as an udder cell programmed to express only those genes needed by udder cells, could be reprogrammed to generate an entire new organism. Before this demonstration, scientists believed that once a cell became specialized as a liver, heart, udder, bone, or any other type of cell, the change was permanent and other unneeded genes in the cell would become inactive. Some scientists believe that errors or incompleteness in the reprogramming process cause the high rates of death, deformity, and disability observed among animal clones.
Therapeutic Cloning
Therapeutic cloning, also called "embryo cloning," is the production of human embryos for use in research. The goal of this process is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease. Stem cells are important to biomedical researchers because they can be used to generate virtually any type of specialized cell in the human body. Stem cells are extracted from the egg after it has divided for 5 days. The egg at this stage of development is called a blastocyst. The extraction process destroys the embryo, which raises a variety of ethical concerns. Many researchers hope that one day stem cells can be used to serve as replacement cells to treat heart disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, and other diseases.
In November 2001, scientists from Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT), a biotechnology company in Massachusetts, announced that they had cloned the first human embryos for the purpose of advancing therapeutic research. To do this, they collected eggs from women's ovaries and then removed the genetic material from these eggs with a needle less than 2/10,000th of an inch wide. A skin cell was inserted inside the enucleated egg to serve as a new nucleus. The egg began to divide after it was stimulated with a chemical called ionomycin. The results were limited in success. Although this process was carried out with eight eggs, only three began dividing, and only one was able to divide into six cells before stopping.
(a) Cloning DNA in Plasmids.
By fragmenting DNA of any origin (human, animal, or plant) and inserting it in the DNA of rapidly reproducing foreign cells, billions of copies of a single gene or DNA segment can be produced in a very short time. DNA to be cloned is inserted into a plasmid (a small, self- replicating circular molecule of DNA) that is separate from chromosomal DNA. When the recombinant plasmid is introduced into bacteria, the newly inserted segment will be replicated along with the rest of the plasmid.