Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston are collaborating together to begin experiments in human cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer). Their purpose is to try and obtain patient specific embryonic stem cells—a feat claimed to have been done by Woo-suk Hwang in South Korea, but he is now under indictment for fraud regarding that particular claim and ancillary fund raising activities. Private money is being used.
Only time will tell whether human clones will actually be created. But at least the Harvard experimenters are admitting that they are creating human embryonic life for the purpose of destroying it. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times and the Kansas City Star, take note!
“Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer involves removing nuclei, which contain the cellular DNA (genes) from egg cells, and replacing them with the nuclei of donor cells. The resulting cell is subject to a chemical, or electrical, charge that triggers cell division and the creation of an embryo genetically identical to the donor of the nuclei.”
In other words, SCNT does not create stem cells, as some media reports have it. Rather, as a form of cloning, it creates new life through asexual means. Destroying these nascent embryos for use in stem cell research is merely one potential use of the embryos, not the result of the procedure itself.
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