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More links to articles about human cloning:
Where is the proof of a "baby"?
Still
no testing of the baby
Zavos:
Genie Already Out of the Bottle on Cloning
Patent
for human cloning method
Genetic
Basis for Cloning Failure
The Cloning Circus Continues
Clonaid claim first cloned Japanese
to be born soon.
Sunday 19 January, 2003
The company which claimed to have produced two human clones now says a third
cloned baby will be born in Japan on Monday.
Clonaid president Brigitte Boisselier told yesterday the Tokyo Broadcasting
System (TBS) that the baby was cloned with cells taken from a two-year-old
boy who died in a car accident.
Japan outlawed human cloning in 2000, making it punishable by up 10 years
in prison and a fine of up to 10 million yen ($85,000 dollars).
Some News Links:
First cloned Japanese
baby ‘ by next week ’
India
Express, India - 18 January, 2003
"Human clone firm
claims first cloned Japanese on the way"
Outlookindia.com,
UK -
18 January, 2003
Human clone firm claims
first cloned Japanese on the way: report
ABC Online,
Australia
- 18 January, 2003
Clonaid claims first
cloned Japanese soon
Times of
India, India
- 18 January, 2003
Clonaid says first
cloned Japanese will be born on Monday: report
Channel
News Asia, Singapore - 18 January, 2003
Baby clone 'due in Japan
soon'
BBC - Saturday, 18
January, 2003
Japan 'set for cloned
baby'
Gulf Daily
News, Bahrain - 19 January, 2003
L.
Ed.
CellNEWS
03-01-19
Clone baby
could be a hoax: investigator – ABC Online, Australia,
01/06/2003
Clone testing
overseer suspends effort – CNN, 01/06/2003
'Clone' baby
inquiry suspended – BBC, 01/06/2003
World's Second
Cloned Baby Is Born, Raelians Say – Reuters, 01/04/2003
Guillen's statement:
In a statement,
Michael Guillen, a former science editor for ABC-TV, said he had assembled
experts to do the work but suspended the effort Monday morning.
"The team of scientists has had no access to the alleged family
and, therefore, cannot verify firsthand the claim that a human baby has
been cloned," Guillen said.
"In other words, it's still entirely possible Clonaid's
announcement is part of an elaborate hoax intended to bring publicity to
the Raelian movement."
Guillen indicated he was still willing to proceed.
"When and if an opportunity to collect DNA samples as promised does
arise, however, the team stands fully prepared to re-mobilize and conduct
the necessary tests."
Guillen has said he had no connection to Clonaid. But he said in his
statement Monday he has been interested in doing a documentary on human
cloning that would involve Clonaid's work and that he's covered the "principal
players" in human cloning since the cloning of Dolly the sheep was
announced in 1997.
Keep in mind:
In Boisselier’s Dec. 27 live "news conference" she produced:
§
no
mother,
§
no
baby,
§
no
DNA test,
§
no
description of cloning methods and
§
no
independent corroboration.
In short,
no proof — no nothing.
As soon as Clonaid said it had no proof to present, any serious media
coverage of the story should have ended.
Unfortunately, when the media give voice to a disreputable cult in this
way, great harm is done:
§
First,
the cult is using the media both to raise money from vulnerable people and
to recruit new followers.
§
Secondly,
some anti-abortion advocates, including President Bush and key Republican
leaders, are using the cult’s claims to advance their agenda to ban all
types of cloning, regardless of whether it’s for reproductive purposes or
vital medical research.
§
Thirdly,
fringe scientists have been able to enhance their status by beating up on
one of their own.
§
Finally,
at the end of the day, the public comes away from the Raelian cloning story
terrified by advances in genetics, the very science that holds the key to
solving some of the biggest challenges human beings will face in this
century.
The
Cloning Circus Continues
Parents of 'Cloned Baby Eve' said to
question whether to allow DNA testing.
Friday, 03 January 2003
Most experts have
expressed scepticism about the company Clonaid’s claim that a baby born
last week was a clone, saying they needed to see a DNA matching as proof.
Already at their initial press conference in Florida last week, Clonaid's
research director and chief executive Brigitte Boisselier promised
that the alleged ‘clone baby Eve’ would be tested with DNA technology to
prove it’s cloned character. Clonaid representatives repeatedly has refused
to identify the parents or offer any proof that the child nicknamed ‘Eve’
is a clone. But the company had promised DNA test results to confirm their
claim by around the end of this week.
Yesterday, in interviews with both French television station France-2 and
BBC 2's Newsnight current affairs program, Boisselier were saying the
testing is postponed. At the same time she claim another cloned baby will
be born this weekend somewhere in a Northern European country.
"These tests have not been carried out. We have had to push them
back," Boisselier told France-2, saying the baby's parents felt
under pressure after a Florida lawyer this week asked a state court to
appoint a legal guardian for the baby that could result in the cloned child
being taken away from them.
"For the time being the parents told me they are giving themselves
another 48 hours to yes or no if they would do it, do the tests."
"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,"
she told France 2.
"Perhaps the second child will be more accessible because it is in
Europe and the country in which he or she will be born may be less
sensitive," she said, adding the birth was due in days.
"It will be this week," she said.
"I am confident these tests will be done soon and will be given to
you as proof soon enough," Boisselier told BBC 2's Newsnight
current affairs program.
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. A hearing has been scheduled
for 22 January and should reveal the parent's identity.
"Their failure to appear amounts to giving consent of an
adjudication of the child to a guardian. They have to appear,"
Siegel said.
Boisselier said the obstacle now was the filing by Siegel asking a Florida
court to appoint a guardian for the baby. Under Florida law anyone can file
a petition for court protection if they have information that a child is in
danger. The baby's parents were concerned that the person appointed by
Clonaid to carry out DNA tests would have to reveal their identity to the
Florida court, even though the baby may well fall outside the court's
jurisdiction.
"The parents are not ready to take that chance yet. I'm discussing
with them, because they said they would go public that was the agreement we
had. Right now I have no heart to push them knowing they could lose so
much," Boisselier said.
Meanwhile, a second cloned baby is expected to be born somewhere "in
Northern Europe before Sunday," Boisselier said. As before, she
declined to name any country.
Boisselier have previously said that three additional couples were expected
to give birth to Clonaid-created cloned babies by early February.
Thomas Kaenzig, Clonaid’s vice president placed in Las Vegas,
scoffed at Siegel's lawsuit. He said the child is healthy and her parents,
an infertile couple who tried having a baby for many years, are happy and
excited about the birth.
Kaenzig said human cloning is simply a new reproductive technology and
someday will be accepted as such. He compared the current reaction to the
outcry over in-vitro fertilisation when it was introduced 25 years ago.
"We don't disclose the location for the safety and security of the
baby," he said.
Despite Clonaid's highly publicised news conference on Friday announcing
the birth of the 7-pound girl, Kaenzig said it is now up to the family to
decide whether to go public.
Clonaid’s
History
Clonaid, which
declines to reveal where its facilities are, was founded in the Caribbean
country of Bahamas in 1997 by Claude Vorilhon, a former French race
car driver and sport journalist that later turned leader of the sect called
the Raelians. He, now calling himself Rael, says he learned about the
origin of life on Earth from a visitor from outer space that he met in
France 1973. He preaches that cloning is a step toward reaching eternal
life and that extraterrestrials has created all life on Earth through
genetic engineering.
Clonaid is said to retain philosophical but not economic ties to the Raelians,
company officials now claims.
Clonaid’s Vice President Thomas Kaenzig, said Monday that although the
cloning company was founded in the Bahamas, its presence there was limited
to a post office box for receiving correspondence. The company also said it
has only a public relations office in Las Vegas.
The company has always revealed little information about its operations.
However, speaking to reporters by telephone from Las Vegas, Kaenzig said
that although the company was founded in the Bahamas in 1997, nobody
associated with it lives there.
"We set up a P.O. box in the Bahamas, but there was no research
activity or lab or anything," said Kaenzig, who is a 30-year-old
Swiss citizen.
"There was nothing going on in terms of operations. It was a project
to create controversy," Mr. Kaenzig said.
"That was his (Rael’s) mission, to wake people up."
Though the company advertised a cloning service, it was hardly ready to
provide for it. For three years, Clonaid "was just a post office
box in the Bahamas," Mr. Kaenzig said.
"There was no research going on."
However, in another interview with Sun Sentinel, FL, Kaenzig said the firm
has been perfecting cloning for four years and is being attacked by
competing scientists and doubting journalists with agendas.
"We don't take advantage of anybody. We want to help people with
specific scientific issues."
"(Clonaid clients) thought about it for some time. They're very happy
for this to be available," he said.
Clonaid’s spokeswoman Nadine Gary said the company has a public
relations office but no laboratories or other offices in Las Vegas. Kaenzig
lives there.
In an interview shown Friday last week on Fox News Channel, Claude
Vorilhon, or Rael, said:
"At the beginning it was a seed company which was just a P.O. box
underneath the Web site, and it was just to study the feasibility of the
project."
Kaenzig said Clonaid has "different legal entities" and
confirmed that it used the name Valiant Venture in the Bahamas.
Corporate records show Valiant Venture Ltd. was established in the
Bahamas in early 1997 but was struck from the country's registry of
companies later that year.
Kaenzig cited government regulations in other countries as one reason why
the post office box was established. He said opponents had falsely accused
the company of starting laboratory work in the Bahamas and that the
government had cancelled the company's license.
Kaenzig criticised US government policies against human cloning and said:
"We don't see any future for ourselves in the United States."
But he refused to comment when asked where the company has facilities.
"Our main concern is obviously the safety of our patients, the
safety of our staff," he said. "We don't want to risk
anybody's life."
Appearing yesterday on CNN's "Crossfire", Rael answered the
following questions:
Will the public get a chance to see the baby soon?
"I don't think so," Rael said.
Asked whether his group is simply pulling a great publicity stunt,
Rael, speaking from Canada via satellite, said his earpiece was having
technical difficulties:
"I am so sorry but the sound is so bad. I cannot hear
anything," he said.
This is the best way in which the Emperor’s or Empress’ New Clothes are
disclosed – they have no clothes!
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