Human cloning could be justified in future - expert

Cloning duplicate human beings may be justified in the future if the dangers can be overcome, a leading bio-ethics expert said today.

Dr Guido de Wert, senior research fellow in biomedical ethics at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, said human reproductive cloning was too risky to attempt at present.

But he told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, that ‘‘a definite and categorical prohibition of reproductive adult cloning is premature’’.

His view was attacked by pro-life campaigners today, who argued that even if it could be made safe reproductive cloning was morally wrong.

Dr de Wert said animal research showed that current methods of cloning resulted in high numbers of miscarriages, death and disease.

‘‘Many animal clones die in the womb or develop serious deformities including diabetes, bad kidneys and enlarged tongues,’’ he said.

‘‘Even clones that look healthy may be ticking time bombs. Human adult cloning would probably have similar adverse outcomes. Furthermore, clones might be predisposed to a decreased life span.’’

However he did not believe it would be right to ban reproductive cloning forever. If the risks could be overcome it might be justified in the future, he said.

‘‘It could be used, in principle, to treat some types of infertility, for instance when a man is unable to produce any germ cells in his sperm,’’ Dr de Wert added.

Peter Garrett, from the campaign group Life, insisted: ‘‘All cloning is profoundly exploitative.’’

In a strong attack on the experts meeting in Lausanne, he said: ‘‘They are turning human life into a commodity to be manufactured by white-coated technicians, manipulated, experimented upon and treated as laboratory fodder. They are a menace to society.’’

He added: ‘‘Life disagrees entirely with Dr de Wert’s conclusion that it has not yet been argued convincingly that cloning as a treatment for infertility is clearly morally wrong. It is clearly morally wrong.’’