Fertility doctor: 'Three cloned babies born'

A controversial Italian fertility doctor says three cloned babies have been born, but offered no evidence or details about the alleged births.

Dr Severino Antinori was asked at a press conference about his claims in late 2002 and 2003 that he knew of three women who were carrying cloned babies. Antinori has refused to detail his role in the cases, saying only that he had given a “cultural and scientific contribution” to a consortium of scientists involved in the pregnancies.

Asked yesterday about the status of the three pregnancies, Antinori said: “I know that three went well.”

He said three babies had been created by “nuclear transfer”, a term he said he preferred to use instead of cloning, which he said had acquired negative connotations. ”I confirm this fact exists,” he said.

Citing legal and other reasons, he refused to provide further details about the babies, such as where and when they were born and who performed the procedures.

Antinori, who runs a private fertility clinic in Rome, first made headlines in 1994 by helping a post-menopausal 63-year-old woman become pregnant with donor eggs and hormones.

He has said in the past he aimed to be the first to produce a baby cloned from an adult. Members of the scientific establishment have said they don’t believe he is technically capable of it, though, and a recent Italian law has made cloning attempts in Italy illegal.

Antinori spoke at a press conference before a conference in Rome on reproductive medicine.