Cloned Humans

A US doctor claims he has already cloned 14 human embryos and transferred 11 of them into the wombs of four women.

Is this for real? Who would want to do this?

When cloning was made a reality with Dolly the sheep, I personally believed humans would never be cloned due to the added complexity of human reproduction. As it is, human IVF is far more difficult than with other animals. Fewer than 20% implant after transfer to a uterus.

But as with many of my doubts, the power of technology has exceeded my imagination.

The doctor, Panayiotis Zavos, is said to be using a middle eastern site for his experiments to avoid the US ban on human cloning.

We have had similar claims of cloning success in the past from the likes of Raelian follower Brigitte Boisellier (see her website Clonaid). But no proof.

One factor I didn’t doubt, was that somewhere out there are people so bent on infamy that not even the most sacrosanct aspect of human existence – our generation through natural reproduction – is safe from them.