Ethical Issues on Animal and Human cloning

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1 Ethical Issues on Animal and Human cloning

2 History of cloning 1952 Northern leopard frogs cloned.
1953 Structure of DNA discovered. 1952 Using nuclear transfer, Philadelphia scientists attempted to clone frogs with the nuclei of early tadpole embryos. The cells began to divide and grow.

3 History of cloning 1978 Louise, the first child conceived through in vitro fertilization, was born. 1993 Human embryos were first cloned (artificial embryo twinning) July 5, 1996 Dolly was born. Manually separating a very early embryo into individual cells, and then allowing each cell to divide and develop on its own. The resulting embryos are placed into a surrogate mother, where they are carried to term and delivered. Again, since all the embryos came from the same zygote, they are genetically identical. - in early October 1993, by researchers Robert Stillman and Jerry Hall from George Washington University Photo from:

4 Dolly – the first mammal cloned using mature cell
Dolly the Lamb in 1996 Method: Nuclear transfer Organization: Roslin Institute at UK and PPL Therapeutics

5 Example of cloning Cumulina the Mouse in 1998
Organization: University of Hawaii

6 Example of cloning Cattle in 1998
Organization: Kinki University at Japan

7 Example of cloning Mille, Christa, Alexis, Carrel and Dotcom the Pigs in 2000 Organization: PPL Therapeutics of UK

8 Example of cloning Carbon Copy the Cat in 2002
Organization: Texas A & M University, USA Photo from Ming Pao 23th January 2003

9 Example of cloning Generation of Prometea, 2003
Organization: A research laboratory in Italy

10 Examples of cloning Cloning of donkey, 2004, USA
Cloning of dog, 2005, Korea Cloning of rhesus monkey, 2007, Oregon, USA US$50,000 for cloning a cat

11 Two methods of cloning Embryo cloning - remove a cell from an embryo for developing into a separate embryo. Adult cell cloning- replace DNA/nucleus from a cell by another.

12 Two methods of cloning Embryo cloning– do not know the characteristics of the offspring. Adult cell cloning– characteristics are almost the same as the nucleus donor.

13 How to generate Dolly? Step 1.
Udder cells were taken from a donor sheep. Cells were then cultured to switch off their genes and become dormant. Photo from

14 How to generate Dolly? Step 2.
Unfertilized egg cell was taken from another sheep. The nucleus was removed, leaving an empty egg. Photo from

15 How to generate Dolly? Step 3.
The egg cell without nucleus was fused with the donor cell using a pulse of electricity. A second pulse started the cell division. Photo from

16 How to generate Dolly? Step 4.
After 6 days, the resulting embryo was implanted into another sheep (surrogate mother). Photo from

17 How to generate Dolly? Step 5.
After gestation, the surrogate mother gave birth to Dolly which was identical to the udder cell donor. Photo from

18 Advantages of animal cloning
Can produce animal with a desired trait, for Protein products, organs Proliferate endangered animals

19 Cloning of endangered animal
Noah the Gaur( an endangered species) in 2000 Organization: Advanced Cell Technology, USA Photo from Advanced Cell Technology (

20 Cloning of endangered animal
Cloning of woolly Mammoth Extinct 10,000 years ago From Mingpao 8/8/2003

21 Cloning of transgenic animal
Cloning of a cow containing mad cow disease resistant gene In Shangdong, China From Mingpao 28/4/2006

22 Concerns in animal cloning
Technology complicated Survival rate of cloned embryos low Overweighing of calves at birth Breeders may want to keep their animal unique Breeders may want to create better offspring

23 Health of clones Might have genetic disorder
Poor development of heart, lung and immune system Might have genetic disorder

24 Dolly gave birth to a female lamb in 1998, but Dolly later died of premature aging in 2003.

25 Company for cloning pets
Genetic Savings & Clone – established in 2000, produced the cloned cat, CC in 2001 Delivered the first commercially cloned cat, Little Nicky in 2004 for US$50,000 Company closed in 2006 A new company BioArts International was established for cloning dogs The company was founded as a result of the efforts to clone Lou Hawthorne's favorite family dog, Missy. The Missyplicity project generated enough interest that Lou Hawthorne decided to build a company devoted to dog and cat cloning. The company opened for business in February 2000, funded production of the first cloned cat, CC, in 2001, and launched its pet cloning service in February 2004, operating a "petbank", to which pet owners could send tissue samples for later use in cloning. The company delivered the world's first commercially cloned cat, Little Nicky, in December Little Nicky was sold to a Texas woman for a reported US$50,000. He is a genetic twin of "Nicky," a 17-year-old Maine Coon cat that had been kept as a pet. As well as their success in cloning cats, the company also made significant advances in dog cloning research, although the technology was not mature enough to sustain the business. The company closed in Letters to this effect were sent out to clients at the end of September 2006, informing them of this decision and offering to transfer any genetic material to another facility. Cloning of cat, by Genetic Saving and Clone Ltd. USA, US50,000

26 Cloning Human

27 Cloning – two kinds Reproductive cloning – an embryo is created and implanted into a woman’s womb to bring it to term. Therapeutic cloning – an embryo is created in order to obtain cells from it.

28 Why clone humans? Just an ‘unconventional’ means of reproduction
In vitro fertilization Surrogate mother Adoption

29 Study human development Produce spare parts (i.e. ear )
Why clone humans? Study human development Produce spare parts (i.e. ear ) Test for genetic defect Increase chance of pregnancy Produce two children at the same time

30 Preserve traits and talents Extension of life in unusual circumstances
Why clone humans? Preserve traits and talents Extension of life in unusual circumstances One spouse sterile Homosexual marriage

31 Positive points of therapeutic cloning
Cloned embryos provide : Brain cells for disorders like Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease) Pancreatic islet cells for diabetes

32 Positive points of therapeutic cloning
Cloned embryos provide : Nerve cells for spinal cord damage Blood and bone marrow cells for blood cell disorder

33 The use of stem cells to generate clones
Embryonic stem cells Adult stem cells

34 Creating an embryo through in vitro fertilization,
culturing ES cells derived from it to provide a sufficient population for the tricky task of inserting genes extracting the nucleus of a successfully altered cell to construct a cloned embryo The resulting offspring would have developed from a cell derived from an embryo created with an egg and a sperm, and "improved" in the laboratory.

35 Why not perform reproductive cloning?
Eugenic– to maximize certain traits intentionally Reduce genetic diversity Use as substitute for organ Clone may have reduced life expectancy Clone may be abnormal

36 Why not perform reproductive cloning?
Lack of self-identity Replaceable Dominated by the ‘father’ or ‘mother’

37 Why not perform reproductive cloning?
Upset traditional family relationship Twin of the cell donor? Relationship with its brother and sister Relationship with spouse of the cell donor

38 Human Reproductive Technology Bill (2000)
Not allow the followings: Replace nucleus of an embryo with nucleus of another cell Clone an embryo Trading of embryo Until recently, there was a ban in the USA on the use of embryonic or fetal tissue for therapeutic cloning. On the other hand, adult tissues, including stem cells from adults, can be legally utilized for therapeutic cloning, although there is considerable regulation at both the federal and state levels in order to prevent bioethically questionable phenomena such as organ farms, and medically risky practices such as xenoplantation.

39 Human cloning in China (Oct. 1, 2003) – by Ministry of Health
Prohibits surrogate mother Prohibits reproductive human cloning Prohibits donation of embryos Prohibits trading of eggs

40 雷爾教派倡導複製人研究。 CLONAID™ was founded in February 1997, by Raël, the leader of the Raelian Movement, an international religious organization, which claims that a human extraterrestrial race, called the Elohim, used DNA and genetic engineering, to scientifically create all life on Earth.                                 Adapted from Clonaid.com

41 Recent Development in Human Cloning
Clonaid claimed to give birth to ‘Eve’ on 26 December 2002 announced a second birth to a Dutch lesbian woman early in January 2003 and a third to a Japanese couple who "cloned their dead son killed in an accident", plus two others in late January

42 Recent Development in Human Cloning
Korean Scientists led by Dr. Woo-suk Hwang produced cloned human embryos (Science, Feb. 12, 2004) – later found to be fabricated American scientist Panayiotis Zavos claimed to have cloned 14 human embryos and transferred 11 of them into the wombs of four women (April, 2009) Started with 242 oocytes and cumulus cells from 16 donors, the group achieved a cloning efficiency of about 25%, similar that seen in cattle (25%) and pigs (26%)

43 Recent Development in Human Cloning
August UK granted the first licence for work toward therapeutic cloning. Nov Californians passed a $3 billion measure to create an Institute for Regenerative Medicine based on embryonic stem cell research. Californians passed a $3 billion measure yesterday (November 2, 2004) that will create an Institute for Regenerative Medicine based on embryonic stem cell research. Every year uses $300 million. In August 2004, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in UK has granted the first licence for work toward therapeutic cloning. The licence initially lasts for 1 year will be held by Newcastle Centre for Life. This licence allows scientists to create human embryos by inserting the nuclei from human skin or stem cells into human eggs.

44 Please consider Would the views of animal and human cloning differ among people with different religious believes? Is embryo a living human? Since the use of stem cells for therapeutic cloning is still in experimental stage, would the use of cells from embryo be acceptable? How about using the embryos left over after in vitro fertilization? 二、「胚胎幹細胞研究」之佛法觀點 　　九十六年七月十九日下午，中大哲研所李瑞全所長與中大前校長的劉全生女兒劉安華（Jennifer A. Liu）來訪。劉安華曾是李瑞全所長的學生，目前在美國加州大學柏克萊分校攻讀博士，研究有關幹細胞研究的倫理問題，特來詢問有關幹細胞研究之佛法觀點。 　　昭慧法師向其分析：佛教分胎藏為八位，精卵和合雖然就是生命的開始，但是畢竟屬於前階段，大致來說，精卵和合一個月內，軀幹尚未長成。科學家所設定摘取幹細胞的時限，是受精十四天之內，是時胚胎還沒有神經傳導功能，因此沒有覺知痛苦的能力。 　　但這並不表示：佛教因此熱烈贊成胚胎幹細胞的研究。十四天內的胚胎，因為還沒有痛的覺受，所以不能把摘除胚胎幹細胞，拿來跟殺害七、八月的胎兒或成人相比，但生命畢竟是有很強烈的生之欲求，摘除胚胎幹細胞，終止了胚胎的生命，對這個生命還是會帶來震撼的。因此以佛教觀點，不致於強烈地將摘除胚胎幹細胞看作是「殺人」，但是也不主張這是「完全不涉及殺生」的行為。 　　此外，昭慧法師也從佛教倫理學的「中道」原則，分析該如何面對這個議題： 　　從另一個面向來看，例如動物實驗，這些被用來實驗的貓、狗、猿猴等動物，比起一團胚胎幹細胞，覺知痛苦的感受能力更強，但世俗一般對胚胎幹細胞的價值還非常重視，對動物實驗卻大都抱持無所謂的態度。以佛法的角度來看，兩者都不値得鼓勵；然而從覺知能力或痛覺的程度來說，殘忍的動物實驗帶給動物的痛苦，遠甚於胚胎幹細胞所承受的壓力。所以或許動物實驗的倫理問題，較諸胚胎幹細包會更為嚴重，這是佛法與世俗不同的看法。 　　不論動物實驗或胚胎幹細胞的研究，法師認為：從佛法的中道立場來看，不妨永遠都表示反對，以給予從事相關工作的科學家一定的道德壓力。因為一旦須要面對反對壓力，科學家才會認真思考替代方案。例如胚胎幹細胞研究，因為面對強大的倫理爭議，才不得不絞盡腦汁來想：是否可能用成體幹細胞來取代？或能否從臍帶血、胎盤組織等來擷取幹細胞？可是動物實驗一向都被認為理所當然，道德壓力不夠大，科學界自然就毫不在意，也不願費心思考替代方案。 　　因此以佛教倫理學看待任何一個應用議題，除了護生的理念之外，還要顧及中道原則：『在諸多因緣裡，選取相對最好的方案。』在運動過程中，永遠不能只有「零」及「一百」，例如動物實驗及胚胎幹細胞的研究，不能因為達不到最理想的目標，就什麼都不做，相對來說，能做到多少就算多少，永遠給予壓力，讓他們良心不安，這就是中道智慧。 

45 Please consider Is reproductive cloning a violation of natural birth? How about the cloning of a beloved one who dies accidentally? How about cloning for sterile couples? Under what circumstances do you want to make a copy of yourself?