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Commission ethical advisors deliver opinion on cloning
At the height of the media reporting about the cloning of a sheep from an adult mammary gland cell by the team at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, Jaques Santer, the President of the European Commission, requested an opinion about animal cloning from the Commission's Group of Advisors on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology. A meeting of the Advisors was rapidly convened in April with invited observers from a range of organisations representing science, industry, patients, green groups and animal protection organisations.
Formal presentations to the meeting were made by Professor Gottfried Brem of the University of Veterinary Sciences in Vienna, Professor Graham Bulfield, Director of the Roslin Institute, Mr Ron James of Pharmaceutical Proteins Ltd, Dr Jean-Paul Renard of the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Mr David Williamson, Secretary-General of the European Commission, Bruno Hansen, Head of the Life Sciences Directorate in DG XII, Sonia le Bris of the Department of Law at the University of Montreal and Professor Peter Sandoe of the Department of Philosophy at Copenhagen University. The Chairman of the Group, Noelle Lenoir, did not permit the observers to ask questions of the speakers after each talk, which annoyed some of the Green MEPs who appeared very eager to question Professor Bulfield. At the end of the formal presentations, there was a long question session but, by that time, the Green MEPs had departed.
Most unusually, the day finished with a press conference held by the Group of Advisors. It was announced that the press conference was arranged at the request of President Santer. Presumably, it was considered that there was sufficient press interest in the subject to justify this departure from their normal practice.
In early June, the Commission released the official text of the Opinion delivered by the Group of Advisors, which made the points below.
- It was likely that research on cloning would add to our understanding of biological processes and thus contribute to human well being.
- The cloning of farm animals may prove to be of medical, agricultural and economic benefit.
- However, the cloning of animals would only be justified if it was conducted in accordance with certain ethical principles, including:
i) avoiding or minimising any animal suffering involved,
ii) reducing, replacing and refining the use of animals in any procedures,
iii)only using animals where there were no better alternatives, and,
iv)acting responsibly towards animals, nature and the environment, including biodiversity. - It would be important to pay attention to the need to preserve genetic diversity in farm animal stocks.
- It would be important to pay attention to the public s right to be protected from risks and to receive adequate information.
- The cloning of humans is ethically unacceptable and any attempt to produce a genetically identical human individual by nuclear substitution from a human adult or child cell should be prohibited.