Research Cloning Not Promising for Medical Progress
Dr. Stuart Newman of New York Medical College noted in his March 5 Senate testimony, genetically matched cells from cloning may well be useless in treating conditions with a genetic basis such as juvenile diabetes – for these cells will have the same genetic defect that caused the problem in the first place.
Due to these factors, as well as advances in genetically tailoring cells without using cloning, “many experts do not now expect therapeutic cloning to have a large clinical impact” – in fact, this whole approach is said to be “falling from favour” among both British and American researchers (P. Aldhous, “Can they rebuild us?”, 410 Nature 622-5 [5 April 2001]).
How, then, can anyone still say that experimental cloning is essential for medical progress?