Life SA

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human.

Within certain regulatory limits, and subject to the effect of state legislation, therapeutic cloning is now legal in some parts of Australia.  In December 2006 a bill legalising therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer – SCNT) and the creation of human embryos for stem cell research was passed. SCNT involves isolating a somatic cell from an adult body, often a skin cell, and transferring the nucleus from that cell to an egg from which the nucleus has been removed. This new cell is then stimulated to begin embryonic growth.

Reproductive cloning, which would involve making cloned humans, is illegal in many countries. It is banned in Australia under the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002.

In December 2010 a Cloning legislative review committee was established by the Federal Government to review cloning legislation in Australia.  The independent Legislation Review Committee for the review of the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 will seek submissions from the public and consult with state and territory governments and experts in the field.

The possibility of human cloning arose when Scottish scientists at the Roslin Institute created the much-celebrated sheep ‘Dolly’ (Nature 385, 810-13, 1997). SCNT was the technique used by the scientists in this experiment. To date, no human stem cell lines have been derived from SCNT research.

A third type of cloning called replacement cloning is a theoretical possibility, and would be a combination of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Replacement cloning would entail the replacement of an extensively damaged, failed, or failing body through cloning followed by whole or partial brain transplant.

Human cloning raises implications concerning the role that cloning might play in changing the family structure by complicating the role of parenting within a family of convoluted kinship relations. A female DNA donor would be the clone’s genetic twin rather than mother, complicating the genetic and social relationships between mother and child as well as the relationships between other family members and the clone.

Further reading on this subject:

February 2006 The Real Lesson of the Korean Cloning Scandal, DoNoHarm

Human Cloning Packet,  Republican Study Committee

Reprogramming Somatic Cells for Therapeutic Application, Journal of Regenerative Medicine

July 2002 Do the Math: Experimental Cloning Exploits Women, DoNoHarm

November 2000 Human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (Cloning),  American Society for Reproductive Medicine