PUBLIC `SHOCKED AND DISTURBED' BY HUMAN CLONING IDEA
PA 03.12.98 19:36
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By John von Radowitz, Medical Correspondent, PA News
Human cloning for reproductive purposes should never be allowed
even as a last
resort to help childless couples, according to a public opinion
survey today.
Members of the public taking part in the survey of attitudes
towards human
cloning were almost unanimous in their abhorrence of the
technique being used to
produce genetically identical offspring.
Even the vast majority of infertile women, those who had lost
children, and
lesbians, were strongly opposed to the idea of reproduction
without the need of
men.
People interviewed for the survey, conducted by NOP and Research
Business
International on behalf of the Wellcome Trust, were also uneasy
about the use of
cloning to produce spare part tissues and organs, once they
realised that it
involved the destruction of embryos.
The study was a qualitative investigation designed to engage
views and
opinions rather than measure numbers.
A total of 79 adults chosen as a cross-section of society were
interviewed in
focus groups containing eight individuals.
The results revealed "considerable unease" at the
prospect of men becoming
biologically redundant. None of the women taking part wished to
see a world
where men were not needed for reproduction.
Fears were also expressed about the likely psychological effects
on a child
born as a clone.
Participants thought it "unnatural and dangerously
self-centred" to want to
produce a child that was the perfect genetic copy of either its
mother or
father.
Dr Suzanne King, head of the Consultation and Education
Department at the
Wellcome Trust, said: "Most people found it shocking and
disturbing."
She said people had little understanding of the science of
cloning, but picked
up the basic principles very quickly once they were explained.
Only two women from the group who were experiencing difficulty
conceiving said
they would consider cloning as a means of having a family.
One had been trying to have a baby for 19 years and the other
rejected cloning
for herself, while feeling it could be acceptable for women who
were
"desperate".
One man commented: "It's very disturbing - why would you
want a replica of
you? It reminds me of Hitler trying to create a race."
A lesbian who took part in the survey said: "We say it in a
joke, don't we,
that we all don't need men, but it would be horrible if there
weren't any."
On the subject of using cloning to produce transplant organs, one
woman said:
"I can just imagine this factory with all these little
hearts pumping away in
little jars ..."
Dr King, one of the organisers of the project, said: "The
Government is
increasingly looking for ways to involve citizens in
decision-making across a
range of policies.
"This research has been fed into the consultation process,
which is currently
under way on cloning.
"We hope to be able to sponsor other research which will
contribute to, and
simulate, public debate on policy issues in a timely manner in
the future."
end.
The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, which is pioneering cloning
research, said it welcomed the "snapshot" survey but
pointed out that it was based on studies of just 79 individuals
and was "not designed to be representative of the population
as a whole".
A spokesman said: "Many of the views recorded in the report
are typical of the opinions that we have heard in our discussions
with the public over the past couple of years."
The institute stressed that large scale production of human
embryos would not necessarily be needed for the production of
therapeutic cloned stem cells -- cells that can differentiate
into various types of tissue.
As the technology progressed, it may be possible to create stem
cells by incubating in a chemically-defined "soup"
rather than in an egg, the institute said.