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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK
Spotlight Falls on Human Cloning This Morning
Aired December 27, 2002 - 06:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This morning the spotlight falls on human cloning and a controversial group called the Raelians. The group claims life on earth was created through genetic engineering by extraterrestrials. Why are they in the spotlight? Because they have been working towards cloning a human baby and at 9:00 Eastern time this morning, the scientific director of Clonaid plans what's being called a major announcement.
Now, there is speculation that Dr. Brigitte Boisselier will announce the birth of a cloned human baby girl.
Here's what she had to say about the subject back in the summer of 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGITTE BOISSELIER, SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, CLONAID: I've been public from the beginning to prepare for the welcoming of that first baby clone. And what I'm saying and I've been saying all along is that I want to do that in a very cautious manner. I will not be rushed into anything, and especially not into any competition. What I want to do is make sure that this baby is perfectly healthy and demonstrate to the world that we are creating life. We are not killing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: There you go. Many scientists question the ability and wisdom, though, of trying to clone a human. But here is how it would be done. Scientists take an egg and remove the genetic material. They insert a cell in the egg, DNA to be specific, and use electricity or chemicals to start the cell dividing. The resulting embryo would then be implanted into a woman's uterus.
Once again, the announcement by Clonaid is set for 9:00 Eastern time and CNN will bring it to you live.
For more perspective on this controversy, let's check in with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who's in New York getting ready to do AMERICAN MORNING.
Oh, Sanjay, I have so many questions.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, not surprising. It's one of the most controversial things in medicine. I mean people have been talking about cloning for quite some time, but actually allowing this group of cells, which we've been hearing so much about, to actually grow into a human being, that hasn't been done. It hasn't been done. Now, who knows? But it is certainly very controversial, Carol.
COSTELLO: Is it possible that this group -- how credible is this group? This group believes that we were all created by aliens, yet they have a lot of money behind them and maybe they have the scientific know how. Do they?
GUPTA: You know, it's really hard to know. I'll tell you, I've talked to a lot of my colleagues sort of within the scientific community and even within the scientist community, people who think about cloning, they are considered sort of a fringe organization. But everyone sort of keeps an eye on them, as you say, Carol, because, you know, you want to, you don't want to completely write them off because they do have some money behind them. They do have at least some science behind them. But most of the scientists I've talked to said it's unlikely that they would actually be able to produce a viable clone, meaning a clone that actually can be carried all the way through pregnancy. Who knows, I mean...
COSTELLO: And tell us a little bit about why, Sanjay, because they've even been having problems with cloned animals.
GUPTA: Two hundred and seventy-seven times, that's how many times it took to get Dolly the sheep. You'll remember that. And before Dolly the sheep was born, there were a lot of damaged, defective sheep that were born and they weren't actually ever carried through all the way to pregnancy. And that's been the greatest concern about trying to clone human beings, would you create this almost subpopulation of human beings if you try these cloning experiments. It's a very difficult scientific endeavor.
Now, Carol, a lot of people have talked about therapeutic cloning, actually growing an embryo just to the point where you could take some stem cells. That's very different than reproductive cloning where you'd actually take those same cells, implant them into a woman's uterus and then allow that to grow into a human being. No one has really said that that's a good idea. Even the scientists don't think that that's -- who are involved in cloning research -- don't think that's a good idea. It's dangerous and you possibly could create an entire population of sub-human beings, if you will.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the laws on the books on cloning. The announcement will be made in the United States. It's not illegal to develop a human clone here yet, right?
GUPTA: That's right. I mean there are four states here in the United States that said that it's -- that they would not allow cloning. You cannot do any cloning using federal money. That is not allowed. But it is not illegal otherwise. I mean if you have an independent laboratory and have scientists who can do that, then it's theoretically not illegal.
COSTELLO: Tell us, again, the dangers about this involving human cloning and what could happen if they really did clone a human being and brought the baby to term and the baby has been born. GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, I mean there's a lot of different ways of looking at that. If, in fact, they did clone a human being and the baby is born and the baby looks normal, there's a lot of considerations. First of all, it's going to need to be independently verified that this is, in fact, a clone. They have to have the genetic material of this baby actually match another human being, probably in the, probably the mother, is what we've been hearing, if that's the case.
Second of all, even if the baby is born relatively normally, what kind of life is this baby going to have? What we've seen in animals, in the cattle and the sheep, is that they have severe medical problems even after they're born. They have enormous weight gains very quickly, dangerously so, 30 to 40 pounds within the first couple of years of life and oftentimes they have very premature lives.
But all of that, Carol, is, first of all, if this baby has been born, and, second of all, if the baby hasn't been born in some very damaged, defective way, which is most likely what would happen if you try and clone a human being. That's what we saw in the animal trials. It's probably what we'd see in the human trials and that's why nobody really, within the scientific community, thinks this is a good idea.
COSTELLO: It's just unbelievable.
Again, the news conference is going to happen at 9:00 Eastern time. Of course, AMERICAN MORNING will carry it live.
Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Thank you, Carol.
Good to see you.
COSTELLO: We'll let you get ready for AMERICAN MORNING right now.
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