Human Reproductive Cloning Research Articles

Human cloning as reproductive means in future: a qualitative thematic study of underpinning values.

The possibility of using human cloning to reproduce has been met with unease, shock, and prohibition in many countries, as well as the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology and the World Health Organization. Exploring the value judgments that underpin these and other responses to reproductive human cloning (RHC) was the objective of this study. In a qualitative design, this study explored values in their variety underpinning responses to RHC by conducting individual semi-structured in-depth interviews among nine scholars who were purposively sampled for contributing various perspectives. Thematic analysis was used to uncover qualitative contents systematically. Regulation of RHC, the first theme, was valued highly but this should become more sophisticated than plain prohibition and draw on accountable societal engagement that is well-informed by current knowledge and further research, rather than be misled by for example the mistaken assumption that cloned offspring would be exact replicas. The second theme was about potential consequences of RHC for which engagement and regulations should account. It concerns the valuing of the personhood and dignity of offspring from RHC, and averting exploitation and potential unwanted societal consequences. In the third theme, participants valued the individual's freedom to choose and reproduce. Recognizing the needs among people who cannot reproduce in other ways, the agenda for the societal engagement on RHC suggested by this study is extensive and challenging. It includes that potential consequences should be pre-empted, exploitation of RHC be averted, criteria of acceptability and non-acceptability of using RHC be developed, and the limits to the use of RHC be articulated in accordance with technological constraints and the values, resources and preparedness of societies.

Bioetika i diplomacija

The Declaration on Human Cloning was adopted at the 82nd United Nations plenary meeting on 8 March 2005. This Declaration crowned the efforts taken by France and Germany since 2001 to adopt a convention against the so-called reproductive human cloning. The negotiation was initially conceived as a bioethical debate that should have led to a general agreement to ban human cloning. However, more often, it took the form of a discussion on human rights, cultural, civil and religious differences among people, their interaction and the question of who or what has priority in case of potential conflicts among heterogeneous value systems. Neither the Declaration nor the negotiations gave any answers to these difficult questions, but they did allow superficial insight into the problems. They showed that international legislation falls into apories when professional argumentation does not prevail in conflicting attitudes, i.e. when political and other differences are in the middle of the dialogue. If one reads the Declaration carefully, it has an unexpected result since, because of its generality and attempts to establish a compromise between difficult-to-combine interests and definitions, it neither defines cloning of people nor prohibits it directly and unconditionally, including cloning for reproductive purposes. Finally, maybe it would have been better if the debate on the cloning controversies and subsequent comprehensive regulations were first left to scientists, philosophers and corresponding expert bodies and panels, who would explain the basic mechanisms of the cloning process and, more importantly, the bioethical implications of the process itself, because cloning is in intrinsic relation with a deliberate act and with the thinking of acting thinking, and only after the public had been fully informed about it, the relevant supranational institutions should deal with this problem.

Are human brain organoids cloned human individuals? An ethical analysis

In recent years, there has been much ethical debate about human brain organoid research. However, the possibility that human brain organoids might be human individuals has not been examined. This is an important issue because if human brain organoids are human individuals, then the creation of human brain organoids could be a form of human reproductive cloning. We examine the implications of two mainstream bioethical views on the nature of human individuals for human brain organoids: (1) Functional Integration Theory, the view that the capacity to integrate vital functions is the criterion for human individuality, and (2) Mental State Theory, the view that some mental capacity is the criterion for human individuality. We find that under either theory of human individuality, human brain organoids could be human individuals in the future. According to a version of Functional Integration Theory that locates the integrative function in the human brainstem (Brainstem Theory), a well-developed human brainstem organoid can be a human individual. Further, on Mental State Theory, a human brain organoid with certain mental capacities can be a human individual. Our results, combined with the ban on human reproductive cloning, may provide some reasons to be more cautious in human brain organoid research. Alternatively, in light of the progress in human brain organoid research, it may be necessary to reconsider the ethics and laws surrounding human reproductive cloning. This research paves the way for the first time to examine the question of great ethical importance whether human brain organoids can be human individuals, and encourages further consideration.

Are human brain organoids cloned human individuals? An ethical analysis

In recent years, there has been much ethical debate about human brain organoid research. However, the possibility that human brain organoids might be human individuals has not been examined. This is an important issue because if human brain organoids are human individuals, then the creation of human brain organoids could be a form of human reproductive cloning. We examine the implications of two mainstream bioethical views on the nature of human individuals for human brain organoids: (1) Functional Integration Theory, the view that the capacity to integrate vital functions is the criterion for human individuality, and (2) Mental State Theory, the view that some mental capacity is the criterion for human individuality. We find that under either theory of human individuality, human brain organoids could be human individuals in the future. According to a version of Functional Integration Theory that locates the integrative function in the human brainstem (Brainstem Theory), a well-developed human brainstem organoid can be a human individual. Further, on Mental State Theory, a conscious human brain organoid can be a human individual. Our results, combined with the ban on human reproductive cloning, may provide some reasons to be more cautious in human brain organoid research. Alternatively, in light of the progress in human brain organoid research, it may be necessary to reconsider the ethics and laws surrounding human reproductive cloning. This research paves the way for the first time to examine the question of great ethical importance whether human brain organoids can be human individuals, and encourages further consideration.

Legal Scope of Human Cloning: Comparative Analysis Between the United Kingdom and France

"Reproductive" cloning and "therapeutic" or "research" cloning are both deliberate attempts to create humans that are genetically identical. Human reproductive cloning in general is prohibited by a number of international and regional agreements, including the Charter of Fukushima, the Additional Protocol of the Council of Europe to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, the World Health Organization resolutions on the implications of cloning for human health, and the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights. However, there are some countries that want to explore therapeutic cloning and cannot, therefore, support a general ban on cloning. This paper aims to review the legal position of human cloning in the UK and France and further compares the issue between the two countries. the legal position of human cloning in the UK and France, it is clear that both countries were initially against the idea and concept of human cloning in general. Human cloning is a much-needed technology, especially in these modern times. Every day we encounter new diseases and illnesses, so human cloning is essential to help us be better prepared for the future.

Stem cell therapy: An emerging hope in regenerative medicine

In recent years, a new revolutionary giant has developed which gives high hopes, promises and proficient scientific study area is Stem cell therapy. Recent research showing the effective application of stem cell therapies to patients has enriched the hope that such regeneration methods may one day become a remedy for a variety of difficult ailments. In the past few years, clinical trials in which stem cell therapies are involved have raised pretty exponentially. Some of these trials had a notable influence on a number of ailments, such as neurological disorders, pulmonary dysfunctions, diseases related to metabolism and the endocrine system, disorders of reproduction, skin burns, and cardiovascular conditions. Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been put to use clinically to treat autoimmune and chronic inflammatory illnesses, concerns about the field of regenerative medicine remain due to their ability to endorse cancer growth and metastasis as well as their overstated therapeutic potential. The most significant obstacle to the development of hESC-based therapeutic medicines is an ethical quandary involving the killing of a human embryo. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which were first developed to address this problem, have since been proven to be effective, although there are still lingering concerns regarding their efficacy for use in medicine. The unwanted differentiation and cancerous transformation are significant safety concerns, iPSCs can be employed for human reproductive cloning, however, their limitless differentiation efficiency raises concerns about the possibility of producing genetically altered human embryos and human-animal chimeras. The issue is contentious because some people claim it goes against nature, yet nature herself gives an opportunity that opens a new avenue for people who suffer from untreated ailments and disorders.

The Ethical and Rational Effect of Human Cloning Technology

When scientists cloned sheep Dolly and other animals, the attitude toward human cloning technology was not clear. Human reproductive cloning involves making an entire cloned human instead of only cells or organs. This type of cloning may cause ethical problems – how to define their identity between real and cloned human beings; how do human beings treat artificial creatures in real society? Plus, it may also cause societal issues; for instance, whether this technology may be taken advantage of by capitalism for class solidification. Reproductive cloning is strictly prohibited in some countries. In recent years, some scientists have been encouraged to lose the restrictions on this research; however, the public has quite different attitudes toward cloning. This paper justifies that human cloning technology needs development with reasonable government restrictions.

International Legal Framework for the Application of Genetic Technologies: Main Features and Issues Open for Discussion

The objective of the present article is to determine the specific characteristics of the established international legal framework for the application of genetic technologies and to identify general guidelines that influence states’ policies in this area.Genetic technologies evolve rapidly, raising a number of ethical and legal issues and directly affecting human rights. At the universal level, there is still no international treaty containing uniform rules in this field. At the regional level, the experience of the Council of Europe deserves further study. National approaches to the legal regulation of applying genetic technologies differ since States retain a great deal of discretion in regulating these issues.Though the Council of Europe Member States enjoy a margin of appreciation in regulating the use of genetic technologies, a number of common distinctive features underlying the international legal framework in this area can still be singled out. These are informed consent, prohibition of reproductive human cloning, prohibition of germ line modification with certain exceptions. They arise primarily from the Oviedo Convention, the Protocols thereto and the ECtHR practice. Soft law documents adopted at the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe contribute to the process of their formation, too, but to a lesser extent. The efforts undertaken at the European and universal level shape modern international legal regulation in the field and set up the course of action for States to follow.

25th ANNIVERSARY OF CLONING BY SOMATIC-CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER: Cloning, mitochondrial replacement and genome editing: 25 years of ethical debate since Dolly.

The birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996 elicited a tsunami of commentaries, both in the popular media and academic journals, including responses to the prospect of human reproductive cloning. Much of the anxiety expressed over this imagined consequence of Dolly's genesis revealed fundamental concerns about us losing our commitments to certain ethical goods, such as human dignity, or even 'what it means to be human'. Over the last 25 years, the focus of much of the ethical debate over human biotechnology has slowly shifted towards other genetic technologies that aim to influence inheritance, such as mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) and heritable genome editing. Genome editing, in particular, is a technology with multiple fields of application, actual and potential, in research and innovation. This review suggests that many of the fundamental concerns about the possibility of human reproductive cloning that were precipitated by Dolly persist today in the arguments of those who oppose MRT and any use of heritable human genome editing (HHGE). Whilst it is not accepted here that an understanding of human nature and dignity alone can demonstrate the ethical unacceptability of such assisted reproductive technologies, there are themes of justice, which extend into our relationships with animals, that demand continued wide-ranging examination and public dialogue. While Dolly has cast a long shadow over such discussions, this review suggests that the general existential angst over human uses of biotechnology that she came to symbolise is neither compulsory nor a reliable guide for how to think about biotechnologies today.

A PRUDENTIAL PERSONALIST ETHICAL APPRAISAL OF HUMAN CLONING

Numerous uncertainties are hanging over the biotechnology of human cloning which has prompted medical ethicists and religious organizations to ask questions that bordered on its ethical and religious considerations. In cloning humans, ethical and religious issues arise both in its clinical and laboratory settings hence, the morality of manipulating human genes is the foremost ethical issue among scientists and religious scholars. Therefore, this paper evaluated the human cloning technology using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models to arrive at a workable moral paradigm. To achieve this objective, the paper employed the phenomenological and critical-literary literature review methods. The paper argued that previous ethical and religious researches have not adequately employed the ‘ideal’ ethical models to appraise the morality of human cloning hence; using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models were appropriate to reveal that every human life has worth and its commodification is an aberration. The paper concluded that based on the paradigm of prudential personalist ethics, cloning humans (especially, human reproductive cloning) negates respect for human life, human dignity, and communal goods hence it should not be practiced.

Assessing Human Reproductive Cloning and Creationism from the Perspectives of Raelianism and African Belief

This paper appraised the issues involved in human reproductive cloning and creationism from the standpoints of Raelian religion and African traditional belief. The methods adopted are descriptive and evaluative. The findings include the fact that human cloning is one of the religious tenets of Raelianism; and that African tradition and culture totally reject reproductive cloning on the ground of its unnaturalness. Finally, the paper from the African traditional paradigm concluded that human reproductive cloning is totally condemnable and should not be practiced on human beings on the ground of unnaturalness, distortion, negation, imperfection, and aberration.

In vitro gametogenesis and reproductive cloning: Can we allow one while banning the other?

In vitro gametogenesis (IVG) is believed to be the next big breakthrough in reproductive medicine. The prima facie acceptance of this possible future technology is notable when compared to the general prohibition on human reproductive cloning. After all, if safety is the main reason for not allowing reproductive cloning, one might expect a similar conclusion for the reproductive application of IVG, since both technologies hold considerable and comparable risks. However, safety concerns may be overcome, and are presumably not the sole reason why cloning is being condemned. We therefore assess the non-safety arguments against reproductive cloning, yet most of these can also be held against IVG. The few arguments that cannot be used against IVG are defective. We conclude from this that it will be hard to defend a ban on reproductive cloning while accepting the reproductive use of IVG.

Family Resemblances: Human Reproductive Cloning as an Example for Reconsidering the Mutual Relationships between Bioethics and Science Fiction.

In the traditions of narrative ethics and casuistry, stories have a well-established role. Specifically, illness narratives provide insight into patients' perspectives and histories. However, because they tend to see fiction as an aesthetic endeavour, practitioners in these traditions often do not realize that fictional stories are valuable moral sources of their own. In this paper I employ two arguments to show the mutual relationship between bioethics and fiction, specifically, science fiction. First, both discourses use imagination to set a scene and determine a perspective. Second, bioethics and science fiction share the family resemblance of expressing moral beliefs. I then consider how understanding bioethics and science fiction as interrelated discourses can be the basis of a methodology for inquiry into relational autonomy in the context of biotechnologies and medicine. As an example of this methodology, I analyse Fay Weldon's novel The Cloning of Joanna May (1989).

Ethical and Safety Issues of Stem Cell-Based Therapy.

Results obtained from completed and on-going clinical studies indicate huge therapeutic potential of stem cell-based therapy in the treatment of degenerative, autoimmune and genetic disorders. However, clinical application of stem cells raises numerous ethical and safety concerns.In this review, we provide an overview of the most important ethical issues in stem cell therapy, as a contribution to the controversial debate about their clinical usage in regenerative and transplantation medicine.We describe ethical challenges regarding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, emphasizing that ethical dilemma involving the destruction of a human embryo is a major factor that may have limited the development of hESC-based clinical therapies. With previous derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) this problem has been overcome, however current perspectives regarding clinical translation of iPSCs still remain. Unlimited differentiation potential of iPSCs which can be used in human reproductive cloning, as a risk for generation of genetically engineered human embryos and human-animal chimeras, is major ethical issue, while undesired differentiation and malignant transformation are major safety issues.Although clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown beneficial effects in the therapy of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, the ability to promote tumor growth and metastasis and overestimated therapeutic potential of MSCs still provide concerns for the field of regenerative medicine.This review offers stem cell scientists, clinicians and patient's useful information and could be used as a starting point for more in-depth analysis of ethical and safety issues related to clinical application of stem cells.

The global governance of human cloning: the case of UNESCO

Since Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1996, the question of whether human reproductive cloning should be banned or pursued has been the subject of international debate. Feelings run strong on both sides. In 2005, the United Nations adopted its Declaration on Human Cloning to try to deal with the issue. The declaration is ambiguously worded, prohibiting “all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life”. It received only ambivalent support from UN member states. Given this unsatisfactory outcome, in 2008 UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) set up a Working Group to investigate the possibility of a legally binding convention to ban human reproductive cloning. The Working Group was made up of members of the International Bioethics Committee, established in 1993 as part of UNESCO’s Bioethics Programme. It found that the lack of clarity in international law is unhelpful for those states yet to formulate national regulations or policies on human cloning. Despite this, member states of UNESCO resisted the idea of a convention for several years. This changed in 2015, but there has been no practical progress on the issue. Drawing on official records and first-hand observations at bioethics meetings, this article examines the human cloning debate at UNESCO from 2008 onwards, thus building on and advancing current scholarship by applying recent ideas on global governance to an empirical case. It concludes that, although human reproductive cloning is a challenging subject, establishing a robust global governance framework in this area may be possible via an alternative deliberative format, based on knowledge sharing and feasibility testing rather than the interest-based bargaining that is common to intergovernmental organizations and involving a wide range of stakeholders. This article is published as part of a collection on global governance.

A study of fourteen interpretations for human reproductive cloning and violating man's dignity

Since the time the theory of practicing human reproductive cloning was felt to be close to turn into reality, there were many objections against it. These objections were from different scientific, jurisprudential, ethical, or religious perspectives. One of the ethical objections strongly asserted against this type of cloning by different parties was its violating human dignity. Since in many cases it is not specified what is meant by this claim, this article suggests fourteen interpretations for it and struggles to evaluate and analyze each of them. Altering the specific way of procreation, changing genetic structure, using man as a bank of organs, choosing man's attributes, turning him/her into a product, having only one genetic parent, turning man into a laboratory mouse, imposing one's identity on another person, hurting collective dignity of all humanity, ignoring man's freedom and the right to choose, misusing cloned people, negating the principle of end, exploiting women, increasing illicit sexual relations, are all different interpretations of the claim which are going to be studied.

SCNT Method and the Application for Patent Eligibility on Cloned Animals

Patents recognize economic right and are important for both individual and social economic benefit. Nonetheless, mere economic right does not eliminate the requirement for moral assessment when adjudicating intellectual property claims, especially in the case of claims associated with applications of biomedical technology [e.g., somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) methods]. This is so for applications for patent in the case of live-born animal clones, as governed in the setting of the judicial system of the USA. Here recent federal court decisions in the USA are reviewed, and the ethical ambiguities of this judicial review are engaged in light of the current prohibitions on human reproductive cloning. It is concluded that the legal proscription of patents on animal clones bodes well for human accountability to present and future generations in the event of human reproductive cloning.

Editorial Vol.7(2)

Hello readers! Hope everyone is fine especially in this season where we often are prone to attacks of cold or flu. The holiday season is at our threshold, and we wish everyone to be in the best of health and happiness.This issue of the BJB is very interesting with topics stretching from Non Communicable Diseases to the ethical issues related to the habitation of the planet Mars, and proves how forward looking are our readers and authors.Mohammad Rashedul Islam et al discuss the application of the SARA method in a district in Bangladesh. The method is based on the principle of Service Availability and Readiness Assessment of WHO. The study in a district in Bangladesh found that about 62% of all the facilities were ready to provide general services like basic amenities with basic equipment, standard precautions for infection prevention, diagnostic capacity and essential medicines. However in case of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), only 40% of the health facilities had chronic respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases diagnosis/management and only 32% had availability of diabetes diagnosis/management. Therefore, service availability and readiness of the health facilities to provide NCD related health services were not satisfactory. The authors emphasize that SARA which is a tool to monitor facilities to be ready for provision of services including NCD, should be used by all clinic managers.The very scientific and forward looking article titled “SCNT Method and the Application for Patent Eligibility on Cloned Animals” by Norman K. Swazo reviews US federal court decisions regarding applications for patent in the case of live-born animal clones. A decision issued from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit established an earlier decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that live-born animals cloned by the somatic cell nuclear transfer method (SCNT) like cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats are not patentable, so a scientist using the method is not eligible for a patent claim on the animals. The author feels that this decision has ethical implications related to the moral status of cloned animals. The author argues whether the end product of a SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer) application is same as an invention or only a revelation of nature at the cellular level. The author quotes Article 11 of Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights UNDHGR “Practices which are contrary to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning of human beings, shall not be permitted.” He concludes that the judicial assessments in the USA deciding on the question of patenting of animal clones provide important barriers to human reproductive cloning research, safeguarding moral and legal commitment to human dignity. The article on Ethics in Public Health Research and Clinical Research by Muhammad Waseem Khanet al discusses on the need to continue to focus on ethical values in conducting any research. Tha authors stress the importance, either in public health research or clinical research, of the need to recognize an ethical standard that respects individual’s autonomy and community’s wellbeing. This can be achieved through collective collaboration for the protection of individual’s autonomy, dignity and wellbeing. Research ethics is a fundamental criterion to be complied with throughout a research study. The very interesting article on Planetary Protection for Mars: Time for Reconsideration by Svetoslav Alexandrov looks into the ethical questions beyond mother earth but which could be affected by people from our planet. In this manuscript the author discusses the ethics of the protection of hypothetical organisms on Mars in terms of planned manned space missions and subsequent colonization. The author discusses the possible problems related to a process called terraformation where the planet is converted to make it suitable for Earth life. He argues that terraformation will change the whole condition of the planet. The author quotes Carl Sagan, of The Planetary Society: “If there is life, then I believe we should do nothing to disturb that life. Mars then, belongs to the Martians, even if they are microbes” . I think we all agree with this brilliant recommendation.The article ‘We Still Need to Improve Our Research Writing Ethics’ by Sheikh Arslan Sehgal looks into the value of maintaining professional integrity of research work. Particularly with issues like plagiarism, ethics, authorship and data fabrication. He argues that the scientific community must obey the scientific ethical norms and rules. He feels that ethical problems must be resolved for the advancement of research in countries including Pakistan. The author recommends teaching students the international, institutional and professional standards regarding research and authorship issue. Thus from the beginning researchers will know the key components of ethics in conducting research and the end product will be research work of quality and acceptability.Dear Readers, we look forward to your articles, commentaries, observations on different issues which touch our lives and will help in broadening our knowledge and understanding of Bioethics.

Human somatic cell nuclear transfer and reproductive cloning: an Ethics Committee opinion

This document presents arguments that conclude that it is unethical to use somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) for infertility treatment due to concerns about safety; the unknown impact of SCNT on children, families, and society; and the availability of other ethically acceptable means of assisted reproduction. This document replaces the ASRM Ethics Committee report titled, "Human somatic cell nuclear transfer and cloning," last published in Fertil Steril 2012;98:804-7.

Emotional reactions to human reproductive cloning

BackgroundExtant surveys of people's attitudes towards human reproductive cloning focus on moral judgements alone, not emotional reactions or sentiments. This is especially important given that some (especially Leon Kass) have...