Posted on 01/02/2003 5:45:16 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
2 hours, 16 minutes ago
PARIS - The parents of a newborn claimed to be the world's first cloned human are having second thoughts about whether to allow DNA testing on the child, said the head of the cloning company that claims it brought the baby to life.
"The parents told me that they needed 48 hours to decide yes or no — if they would do it," Brigitte Boisselier told French television station France-2 in an interview Thursday.
Boisselier is chief executive of Clonaid, which is linked to a religious sect that believes space aliens created life on Earth. She is also a member of the sect, called the Raelians.
Many experts have expressed skepticism about Clonaid's claim that the baby is an exact genetic copy of her mother, saying they needed to see a DNA matching as proof.
Clonaid has refused to identify the parents or offer any proof that the child — nicknamed "Eve" — is a clone. But the company had promised DNA tests to confirm their claim by the end of this week.
Boisselier told France-2 the parents were reconsidering whether to submit to testing because of legal action taken in Florida that could result in the cloned child being taken away from them.
Earlier this week, a court in Florida was asked to turn the baby over to state care if it found the baby's health was in danger. Though Clonaid has kept secret the baby's whereabouts, the company held its news conference to announce the clone's birth in Florida, which could give the court jurisdiction, argued lawyer Bernard F. Siegel.
"That is a lot of turbulence for the parents (who) have gone home and just want to have some peace and spend time with their children," said Boisselier.
Meanwhile, a second cloned baby was expected to be born somewhere "in Europe before Sunday," Boisselier said. She declined to name the country.
Boisselier had previously said that four other couples were expected to give birth to Clonaid-created clones by early February.
Clonaid, which declines to reveal where its facilities are, was founded in the Bahamas in 1997 by the man who founded the Raelian religious sect. The man, Rael, says he learned about the origin of life on Earth from a visitor from outer space. He says he views cloning as a step toward reaching eternal life.
Clonaid retains philosophical but not economic ties to the Raelians, the company says.
. . .an 'ex' Raelian (sp?)(eighteen years with these people. . .) was just on O'Reilly.
Would have been an interesting interview if O'Reilly had not basically blown him off, This person offered that he thinks the clone is a fraud. . .no surprise here, just wish had O'Reilly taken a more thoughtful approach to his interview.
It was a bit more worthy than what we have seen so far, with these people getting facetime. . .
There it is. If you don't agree with someone, they must be druggees!
It is usually not a good idea to decide that you know the limits of the possible. In fact we know that a cloned human is certainly possible and they or someone else will succeed in the next few months. We really do not know if they succeeded or not.
One might surmise that all the scientists that are doubting their success are really trying to preserve the bragging rights to "first cloned human" for their try that is still months away.
When you see test results, then you will know. Until then it is just an unknown and speculation is foolish, and potentially embarrassing.
There is a lesson here though about busy-body lawyers who will do anything for publicity, even threaten another persons child with the horrors of state seizure with no basis at all.
It seems to a complete idiot (me) that any cloned offspring must be female. Is this correct? I am "reasoning" from the (similar?) phenomenon of parthenogenesis.
Can you make a male clone?
--Boris, equipped with "Y" chromosome.
I don't know the answer to your question, but I have one of my own. I've seen the threads about whether the child-clone has a soul. That's passe, along with how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The short answer is "however many G-d decides".
My pressing question is one of serious legal importance. "Does the clone have social security rights?"
Just wait till the lawyers get ahold of this one....
/john
But I simply MUST respond to your statement:
state seizure with no basis at all.
Who said anything about state seizure here?
P.S. - I like my kids the way they are: clones of a seemingly random combination of my DNA and that of my wife.
The busy-body lawyer in Broward County Florida. Things are happening fast, you have to keep up.
No reason why not. Of course, you will still need a female to carry the baby, you just have to implant her egg with the DNA from a male. Then the baby will match the DNA donor male, not the female that carried it.
The lawyers will spend the next several decades deciding who are the parents of a clone child.
We will need a broader definition of conception.
This has nothing to do with souls, whose existence is not proven or even apparent.
Above my pay grade, but my standard answer to that is that He will do whatever He Wills. If He wants it to, it will. If not, not. That's the advantage of being Him.
/john
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