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The National Academies of Science recommends a ban on cloning

Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council, introduced the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences' decision regarding cloning.

Alberts before introducing the panel who made the decision said, "Consideration of medical aspects of human reproductive cloning required the panel to examine the issues associated with scientific conduct and human-subjects protection."

"But the panel did not attempt to address the issue of whether producing a new individual by reproductive cloning, if it were found to be scientifically safe, would or would not be acceptable to individuals or society. The panel defers to others on the fundamental ethical, religious, and societal questions involved."

In this case, unlike so many others, this report was issued and paid for by the Academy; it was not funded by a company with vested interests.

The panel formulating the recommendation was made up of Dr. Irving Weissman, professor of cancer biology, pathology, and developmental biology at Stanford University School of Medicine; Dr. Maxine Singer, president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; and Dr. Mark Siegler, professor and director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago.

As Alberts commented, "no panel members are involved with corporations or personally conduct research in either reproductive cloning or the use of nuclear transplantation to produce embryonic stem cells." The panel reached a unanimous recommendation.

The report concludes that human reproductive cloning would be dangerous for the woman, fetus, and newborn, and is likely to fail.

"Data on the reproductive cloning of animals demonstrate that only a small percentage of attempts are successful, many of the clones die during all stages of gestation, newborn clones often are abnormal or die, and the procedures may carry serious risks for the mother," said Dr. Weissman.

In reaching this decision, the panel defined human reproductive cloning as the placement in a uterus of a human blastocyst derived by the technique called nuclear transplantation.

Part of the recommendation was that a legally enforceable ban carrying substantial penalties would be the best way to discourage human reproductive cloning experiments in both public and private sectors.

Weissman stressed that the "scientific and medical considerations related to this ban should be reviewed within five years. The ban itself should be reconsidered only if at least two conditions are met:

(1) a new scientific and medical review indicates that the procedures are likely to be safe and effective, and

(2) a broad national dialogue on the societal, religious, and ethical issues suggests that a reconsideration of the ban is warranted. "

Aside from this set of recommendations, the panel supported the conclusion of a previous National Academies' report, Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine, that recommends that biomedical research using nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells be permitted.

The full report is available online and printed copies will be available from at a later date.

Coincidentally, the Council on Bioethics appointed by President Bush met for the first time this week. Weissman ended his remarks by noting that "we are pleased that they [the Council] will discuss the broader ethical issues of research. We hope our report will inform them on the scientific and medical aspects of both human reproductive cloning and nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells."

Tam Gray