A controversial Italian embryologist claims to be about to clone the first human -- an Arab baby, reports Samia Nkrumah from Rome Severino Antinori, an Italian embryologist, recently announced at a press conference in Rome that the first cloned human baby will be born as early as the beginning of next year. The announcement did not come as a big surprise. It is a well-known fact that some scientists have been attempting to clone humans since the birth of Dolly, the first cloned sheep, in 1997. In an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit a few days ago, Antinori repeated what he had told journalist Giancarlo Calzolari of the Italian daily Il Tempo, earlier this year, that the first human cloned baby would be the son of an Arab. Many scientists in Italy greeted the news with wariness and scepticism, reserving judgment until the evidence has been produced and submitted for independent scrutiny. There are a number of reasons for scepticism. Firstly, Antinori has a dubious reputation here in Italy. Several doctors said that he has been shunned by the medical community and that doctors are wary of treating his former patients for fear of having to deal with the consequences of his controversial treatment. Secondly, there are scientific objections to the practice since the technology is not safe to be used for human cloning. The incidence of miscarriages, deaths and abnormalities is high. If the foetus is carried to full term, the baby could be born with defects or deformities. This is because damage can occur during the process of removing the nucleus from the donor cell and inserting into the woman's egg; the genes may miss the correct sequence resulting in deformities. The majority of cloned animals die while the foetus is developing. The cloning process is also inefficient: 277 reconstructed cells from approximately 40 donor ewes were used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1997. Most Italians who subscribe to mainstream Catholic opinion were outraged at the prospect of human cloning. The Vatican, which has a strong influence on Italian society, condemns artificial procreation, as do other religious and pro-life groups. Cloning for reproduction is only one of the controversial uses for cells harvested from embryos. Antinori's announcement has once again focused attention on the cloning debate in Italy. There are many facets to this debate, and while some sceptics object to all types of cloning on religious and ethical grounds, others support cloning which is restricted to research and the advance of medicine. When referring to cloning, scientists generally insist on differentiating between human reproductive cloning -- which is a nascent form of assisted reproduction -- and therapeutic cloning, which is aimed at treating disease. In human reproductive cloning, the nucleus of a donor's cell -- which contains the bulk of DNA or genetic material -- is removed. It is then implanted into a woman's egg cell after that cell's own genetic material has been removed. The reconstructed egg is then stimulated by electric or chemical means to induce fertilisation. The egg divides and becomes an embryo. This embryo is then implanted in the woman's uterus and the pregnancy proceeds. The resulting offspring is expected to be a replica of the donor. In the case of therapeutic cloning, stem cells -- or those cells that are the precursor to all other types of cells such as skin, blood or muscle cells -- are removed from a one-week-old embryo. The stem cells are cultured to regenerate lost organs or repair damaged tissue. The embryo is destroyed in the process of being stripped of its stem cells. Since the embryo is not transplanted into a uterus, no foetal development takes place. Those who regard the embryo as sacred oppose both types of cloning. They believe all cloning is reproductive since an embryo with a potential to develop into a human being is produced regardless of the subsequent treatment of that embryo. Others argue that an embryo between 14 and 18 days old does not have a nervous system and can therefore not be regarded as an autonomous entity. Destroying a one-week-old embryo left over from in-vitro fertilisation treatment for cell regeneration can therefore be considered ethically acceptable because it will be used to treat disease and save lives. In addition, embryonic stem cells are considered to hold unlimited potential because any type of cell can be cultured, whereas cells from adults are not considered as versatile. "It all boils down to the embryo," says Mirella Parachini, Italian gynaecologist, feminist and Radical Party activist. "Let's not confuse ideological and religious positions here. If you equate destroying an embryo with murder then there's nothing left to say. But there's another issue at the heart of this debate, and that's freedom of science; the freedom to advance scientific research and knowledge for the benefit of the living." According to a report commissioned by the Ministry of Health and compiled by 25 scientists to clarify the issue prior to a debate in parliament, around 10,000 patients in Italy alone stand to gain from treatment related to therapeutic cloning. Parachini's party is spearheading a new political movement for freedom of science. The head of this party, Luca Coscioni, is in his thirties and suffers from the same progressive motor neuron disease afflicting renowned American physicist Steven Hawkins which left him paralysed and unable to speak. Coscioni refers to studies on mammals that have shown that injecting stem cells from embryos improves the capacity of motor nerve cells and alleviates paralysis. Experiments on humans are expected to be carried out within two years. A host of other diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, heart disease, juvenile diabetes and some kinds of tumours could also be treated using embryonic stem cells. "Those who do not agree with the principle that embryos are sacred must be free to use the new stem- cell therapies," argues Coscioni. The Radicals are supported by the communist and other mostly left-wing deputies, who are also in favour of using embryonic stem cells for research. A heated debate on the subject is expected to take place in the Italian parliament. There is currently no Italian law clearly outlining the boundaries of fertility procedures. Earlier in the year the centre-right government, reflecting a strong pro-life and conservative position, presented a bill on artificial procreation, banning experiments involving human embryos and the freezing of embryos, as well as applying other restrictions to assisted fertilisation. Previous centre-left governments were unable to lift restrictions on artificial procreation due to the strong presence of the centrists. One specialist commented ruefully that Italy has not managed to pass a law regulating assisted reproduction for almost 40 years. On a world-wide scale, a variety of positions and laws on cloning reflect the difficulty which politicians face between balancing ethical concerns on the one hand and promoting scientific progress on the other. The European parliament last month voted to ban all forms of human cloning, but the EU lacks the power to enforce laws in member countries which decide to enforce the law themselves. Countries such as Britain, which are considered quite advanced in the area of stem cell research, ban reproductive cloning while allowing therapeutic cloning. The United States placed restrictions on federally funded research, but allows the continuation of stem- cell research which has private funding. The United Nations has not been able to reach an agreement on whether to impose an all-out ban on all types of cloning or to allow cloning for research and therapeutic purposes only. Last month the UN General Assembly agreed to delay consideration of the cloning treaty for a year. In the absence of a global treaty, countries will implement individual laws on stem cell research, and domestic bans will be less effective since embryonic stem cells could be obtained abroad. "The more legal the scientific procedure, the more you can regulate it," Dr Parachini argues, adding that, "if procedures come under government supervision there will be safer standards." Regardless of the diversity of views on the issue it is inevitable that research and experimentation will continue. Most specialists agree that the continuation of stem cell research is inescapable, and indeed is well underway in some countries. At this point, the introduction of proper legislation preventing abuse of cloning is of the utmost importance.
