From the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR)
MYTH: Cloning is cloning is
cloning. It’s all the same.
FACT: Not all cloning
is the same. Scientists do many kinds of cloning every day, most of which is
commonly accepted. Cloning has allowed scientists to develop powerful new drugs
and to produce insulin and useful bacteria in the lab. It also allows
researchers to track the origins of biological weapons, catch criminals, and
free innocent people.
There’s a world of difference between
reproductive cloning – something that should be banned right away – and
therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
Therapeutic cloning is the transplanting of a patient’s own DNA into an
unfertilized egg in order to grow stem cells that could cure devastating
diseases. Reproductive cloning is the use of cloning technology to create a
child. CAMR, along with leading scientists and most Americans, oppose
reproductive cloning.
MYTH: SCNT will never cure any
diseases – it holds no hope for medical research.
FACT: SCNT holds great
promise for treating and curing patients by creating tailor-made, genetically
identical cells that their bodies won’t reject. In fact, proof of principle for
SCNT has been established in published research on disease in mice. (March 2002
issue of Cell.)
Many of the most debilitating diseases
and conditions are caused by damage to cells and tissue. When combined with stem
cell research, SCNT could be used to develop new and innovative treatments –
such as replacement cells and tissue – that allow organs to function again and
restore hope to millions of families. SCNT is also integral to improving
scientists’ understanding of how stem cells develop. This new knowledge could
speed the search for new treatments – and possibly cures – for some of the most
complex diseases that plague our society.
In particular, SCNT could allow
researchers to move stem cell research to a new level, developing stem cell
therapies that are specifically tailored to an individual’s medical condition.
Moreover, SCNT could help scientists develop stem cells that will not be
attacked and destroyed by the body’s immune system. This holds particular
promise for patients who suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and spinal cord
injuries.
MYTH: Therapeutic cloning is a
slippery slope that leads to reproductive cloning. There is no dividing line
between the two forms of cloning.
FACT: Therapeutic
cloning produces stem cells, not babies. With therapeutic cloning, there is no
fertilization of the egg by sperm, no implantation in the uterus and no
pregnancy. Dr. Harold Varmus, the former head of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) and a Nobel laureate, says there is a profound distinction between
cloning with the intent of making a human being and research cloning to help
understand and treat life-threatening diseases and conditions.
Implantation into a womb is the clear,
bright line that divides reproductive and non-reproductive technologies. Without
implantation, no new human life is possible. This is where society can and must
draw the line.
MYTH: There are more than
enough stem cells for research already. Plus, adult stem cells are more
promising than embryonic stem cells. We don’t need to use
SCNT.
FACT: We do not have
enough stem cells for research. There are only a limited number of NIH-approved
stem cell lines available to government-supported researchers and not enough to
proceed at full pace with extensive research into treatments and cures. There
certainly are not enough to turn research into treatments.
Adult stem cell research shows promise
in some areas and should be pursued. However, our nation’s top scientists, the
National Institutes of Health, and the National Academy of Sciences all agree
that embryonic stem cells have greater potential – they are “pluripotent” (can
make any cell in the body) and “immortal” (can be grown in a lab indefinitely) –
than adult cells.
Another important use of SCNT is to
create new embryonic stem cells. The cells currently available to researchers
are insufficient because: 1) they do not allow full investigation of the genetic
causes of disease (e.g., scientists need to create new cells that actually
contain genetic diseases in order to study how these diseases affect the growth
and development of other cells and tissue), and 2) they are not sufficiently
racially or ethnically diverse (e.g., certain diseases are more prevalent in
people of particular races – like sickle cell disease – and by creating new stem
cells from people of specific races, scientists could help unravel the causes of
these diseases.) The bottom line is that scientists need more cell lines to
fulfill the enormous promise of embryonic stem cell research.
MYTH: A temporary moratorium on
cloning is a reasonable solution, and it isn’t a complete ban. The research
could eventually be reinstated.
FACT: Simply put, a
“temporary” moratorium equals a ban. And it would be reasonable if this weren’t
a life and death matter. We should be giving our top scientists and doctors
every possible tool to push for breakthroughs in treating cancer, Alzheimer’s
Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, stroke
and a multitude of other diseases. Furthermore, a moratorium is unnecessary
because the National Academy of Sciences has already studied the potential of
therapeutic cloning and issued a recent report validating this research.
A moratorium would set up political
hurdles down the road because lifting a Congressional ban is more complicated
and time-consuming than it sounds. Further, it would send the wrong signals to
our scientists, telling them that therapeutic cloning should not be pursued and
that the research is suspect. It would put life-saving medical breakthroughs on
indefinite hold. A moratorium would allow other countries to take the lead in
cutting edge research resulting in the development of cures and treatments
elsewhere – Americans would, therefore, have less access to breakthrough drugs
and products. For the 100 million of Americans suffering from diseases, a
moratorium could be a death sentence.
MYTH: Therapeutic cloning will
just lead to the exploitation of women, including creating a market for their
eggs.
FACT: There won’t be a
market for eggs. The main purpose of SCNT is to perform research to understand
how cells develop. Once that is understood, the process can be replicated in a
laboratory and there will be no need for new eggs.
Under the terms of Senate legislation
that CAMR supports (see below), all research must be reviewed by an independent
review board to ensure that the research will be done according to the highest
ethical standards including: protection of women, informed consent, and no undue
financial inducements.
MYTH: There isn’t a way to ban
human reproductive cloning, and stop unethical rogue scientists from this
practice, while allowing therapeutic cloning for medical research. We need to
ban it all.
FACT: There is a way.
CAMR supports the immediate creation and enforcement of strict regulations to
supplement existing FDA regulations, including a complete ban on reproductive
cloning, stiff penalties for breaking the law, and rules to ensure that
therapeutic cloning occurs under a comprehensive oversight system.
We actively support bi-partisan
legislation – the Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act (S.
303) – co-authored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA),
Arlen Specter (R-PA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Zell Miller
(D-GA). This bill is carefully worded so that human reproductive cloning would
clearly be banned while the development of therapies for millions of Americans
would be allowed to continue.
Their legislation reflects the approach
recommended by several blue-ribbon scientific and medical panels, including the
National Academy’s Panel on Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Cloning and
the California Advisory Committee on Human Cloning, as well as 40 Nobel
laureates and, perhaps most importantly, millions of patients and their
families.
