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Executive Summary
Pages 1-18

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From page 1...
... Our report differs in this respect from the last major report on the topic in the United States, Cloning Human Beings, a 1997 report developed by the National Bioethics Advisory Commission [1~. THE PANEL'S CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The panel has examined and analyzed the scientific, medical, and legal literature on the issues and heard testimony at a workshop from experts in animal cloning, assisted reproductive technologies, and science, technology, and legal policy including people who, on scientific and medical grounds, either oppose or defend human reproductive clon
From page 2...
... a broad national dialogue on the societal, religious, and ethical issues suggests that a reconsideration of the ban is warranted. Finally, the scientific and medical considerations that justify a ban on human reproductive cloning at this time are not applicable to nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells.
From page 3...
... Finding 3: At least three criteria would have to be fulfilled before the safety of human reproductive cloning could be established: (1) The procedures for animal reproductive cloning would have to be improved to such an extent that the levels of observed abnormalities in cloned animals, including nonhuman primates, were no more than that seen with existing human assisted reproductive technology (ART)
From page 4...
... This institutional review process should be applied equally to both public- and private-sector research and be transparent to the public. Finding 6: Because medical and scientific findings indicate that cloning procedures are currently not safe for humans, cloning of a human through the use of nuclear transplantation technology is not now appropriate.
From page 5...
... As part of this process, any persons advocating the practice of human reproductive cloning would need to acknowledge the extent of the abnormalities seen in animal cloning experiments and to demonstrate that these problems assuming that they persist are unlikely to occur in humans. Finding 10: Any future process designed to evaluate the scientific and medical evidence on cloning a person would likely need to involve scientists, physicians, ethicists, and the public.
From page 6...
... There is a very different procedure, here termed nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells but variously called nonreproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning, research cloning, or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to produce stem cells whose aim is the creation of embryonic stem (ES)
From page 8...
... 8 \ o g to 2 i, O ~ ~ vO .o 2 a, 0 , Lao in o a,I it.
From page 9...
... None of the findings summarized in the preceding section that support the panel's conclusions regarding a ban on human reproductive cloning would support a ban on the use of the nuclear transplantation technology to produce stem cells. A recent report prepared by a different committee of the National Academies has emphasized that there is a great potential for studies on stem cells isolated through nuclear transplantation to increase the understanding and potential treatment of various diseases and debilitating disorders, as well as fundamental biomedical knowledge.
From page 10...
... The committee that produced the report from the National Academies entitled Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine considered a wide range of views on the ethical and societal issues involved in the production of human embryonic stem cells including nuclear transplantation technology [2~. After carefully considering all sides of the issue, that committee produced the following conclusion and recommendation concerning this technology: Conclusion: Regenerative medicine is likely to involve the implantation of new tissue in patients with damaged or diseased organs.
From page 11...
... and we have also conducted our own extensive literature review. On the basis of this review and discussion, the panel determined that although there is a clear therapeutic potential for techniques in which stem cells are produced through nuclear transplantation (as in Figure 2)
From page 12...
... LESSONS FROM OTHER ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES RELEVANT TO HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE CLONING Assisted reproductive technology (ART) refers to all treatments or procedures for assisting human reproduction that include the laboratory handling of human eggs, sperm, or embryos, including in vitro fertilization (IVF)
From page 13...
... are particularly important because they can give rise to the widest variety of cells and are immortal. If embryonic stem cells are derived by nuclear transplantation using a nucleus from a patient as the somatic nucleus transferred into the egg, the resulting cells will be immunologically very similar to the patient's cells.
From page 14...
... 14 SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE CLONING cells has the goal of producing cells and tissues for therapeutic transplantation with a reduced risk of rejection [2~. However, mitochondrial gene products that differ can elicit transplant rejection (see Chapter 2~.
From page 15...
... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15 The panel recognizes that a blastocyst derived for scientific purposes by nuclear transplantation could be implanted in a human uterus in violation of a ban on reproductive cloning. But a legally enforceable ban that
From page 16...
... Human embryonic stem cells can form benign tumors when introduced into mice, although this potential seems to disappear if the cells are allowed to differentiate before introduction into a recipient. In addition to possible uses in therapeutic transplantation, embryonic stem cells and cell lines derived by nuclear transplantation could be valuable tools for both fundamental and applied medical and biological research [2~.
From page 17...
... Finally, studies of genetic reprogramming and genetic imprinting will be substantially enhanced through the use of stem cells derived by nuclear transplantation, compared with studies with stem cells derived from other sources. SUMMARY This panel was charged with assessing the scientific and medical issues surrounding human reproductive cloning.
From page 18...
... COMMITTEE ON STEM CELLS AND THE FUTURE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES AND BOARD ON NEUROSCIENCE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine.


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