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 cloningdebate, especially as it relates to embryo-destructiveresearch
� To describe recent attempts to craft a legal barrier tobiomedical 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 willbring 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 onfederal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research . . .
� At this moment, the full promise of stem cell research remainsunknown, 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, notideology.
Robert George
& Christopher Tollefsen:� On January 16, 2007, a remarkable journey came to an end . . .
Sixteen months earlier, Noah Benton Markham’s life had beenjeopardized by the winds and rain of Hurricane Katrina.Trapped in a flooded hospital in New Orleans, Noah dependedupon the timely work of [many rescuers] to take him to safety . ..
� Noah’s story of rescue is . . . one of many inspirational tales ofheroism from that national disaster.
� What, then, makes it unique? And why did the story of hisrescue end sixteen months after the events of September 2006?
� The answer: Noah [was] one of the youngest residents of NewOrleans to be saved from Katrina . . .
A Difference in Perspective:
� According to the first narrative:
� Frozen human embryos are a means to an end
� They are valuable for the good they might provide forothers
� Based on highly speculative research that has yet tocure a single human illness
A Difference in Perspective (cont.):
� According to the second narrative:
� Frozen human embryos are ends in themselves
� An embryo is “a whole living member of the speciesHomo sapiens in the earliest stage of his or her naturaldevelopment.”*
� 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 born
�July 25, 1978 (Great Britain)
�Beginning of modern reproductivetechnologies
�Ethical oversight was minimal
Assisted Reproductive Technology� in vitro fertilization (IVF)
� hyperstimulation of ovaries with powerful hormones
� follow progress with ultrasound
� harvest eggs, then fertilize some or all
� 5 day development of embryos
� implantation of 2-4 embryos
� freezing of excess remaining embryos
“Left-Over” Embryos� Frozen Embryos
� How many embryos in cryopreservation canisters?� U.S. alone: 600,000� Worldwide: who really knows?
� Basis of a contentious national debate� Source of embryonic stem cells
� Used to potentially grow new tissues and organs� May help treat chronic diseases� Diabetes, Parkinson’s, heart disease, spinal cord injuries
The Rest of the Story� How 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 others
� Only 10% available for research
� 10% is not enough!
� Therefore, embryo-destructive research is a “blackhole” � human cloning
Building the Concept of Personhood� Person: A member of the moral community
(Beckwith).
� Implies:� Value
� Inviolability
� Potential Candidates:� (Some or all) human beings
� God and purely spiritual beings
� Intelligent Martians (if they exist)
� Higher animals, “intelligent” robots (controversial)
Human Personhood� Key question:
� Is the category “human person” coextensive with thecategory “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 ordegrees
Conception view of personhood� A human being is a person from the moment of
conception and at every subsequent moment.
� Human personhood corresponds with biologicalhumanhood
� Moral value is intrinsic, and begins at the earliestmoment of biological life
The First Six Days of Life
Some Key Terms
� Gametes: sperm or egg
� Fertilization: union of sperm and egg
� Zygote: a “one-celled” embryo (right afterfertilization)
� 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 earlieststage of development
� All that is needed: time and nutrition to grow into an adultmember 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 signal� This mimics natural fertilization� The result looks very much like a human embryo� If allowed to develop and implant, theoretically could
become a normal baby
Natural FertilizationNatural Fertilization
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Reproductive Cloning� Cloning as a form of assisted reproductive technology,
like IVF
� The resulting baby would be a genetically identicaltwin to the person whose DNA created it
� Examples?
� Exhibit A: Dolly
� Exhibit B: Has this been done
in humans?
Dr. Panayiotis Zavos� 2001: teamed up with Italian
embryologist Severino Antinori
� ten women lined up for clones
� never verified
� 2004: claimed he implanted a cloned embryo into a 35year-old woman
� clone of her husband
� never verified
� 2006: claimed to have cloned and implanted into fivewomen
� one was a Briton
� never 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 attempts
� Dolly lived 6 years, euthanized after premature aging
� In humans, a huge toll of birth defects would result
� No 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 widerange of human disease conditions, includingdiabetes, strokes, cancer, AIDS, andneurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’sand Alzheimer’s disease.”� Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology
� [We are] speaking as individuals and scientists. I’mnot an expert in ethics.� Michael West, President, Advanced Cell Technology
Human cloning has only been
done once . . .
� Dr. Samuel Wood, January, 2008
� Californian research company Stemagen
� Used DNA from his own skin cells
Ethical Objections� “Therapeutic Cloning” is a euphemism
� There are currently no therapies available
� There are many complications
� “Research Cloning” is the more appropriate phrase
� Research cloning destroys human lives
� There are many other alternatives
� Adult stem cells therapies are numerous and successful
� These are currently being used to save lives
� New horizon: iPS cells
The Ohio Experience
March, 2008:
Testimony before the Senate Civil Justice Committee
Reflections . . .� The attitude towards any restrictions on research
� OSU
� Cincinnati Children’s
� CWRU
� Politics and 8th grade biology
� “From your religious viewpoint . . .”
� The “half a loaf” plan
� How it all ended
Update: 2009� Meeting last spring with research scientists
� The surprising results
� The present climate
Banning Cloning Should be
an easy “Slam-Dunk”� 94% of all Americans support a ban
� There is absolutely no reason to oppose it
� A ban would send a clear signal to the people of Ohiothat there are some lines we should not cross
� If hospitals and scientists support a ban, this wouldencourage donors and patients alike
� A good result for everyone
� This is a battle we should win
After all, the
Real “Force”
is With Us
Bibliography
� Condic 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 Instituteof Stafford, Stafford, Virginia, 1997, (link).
� Lee P & RP George, "The First Fourteen Days of Human Life," The NewAtlantis, Number 13, Summer 2006, pp. 61-67 (link).
� Sullivan DM, “The Conception View of Personhood,” Ethics andMedicine 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]