`belle' Rings With Hilarity Among One-acts At Wilkes

1 Fired, 2 Suspended In Escapes 
Four Boys Who Fled Juvenile 
Detention Center In December 
Are Behind Bars

Friday, January 09, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Regulate the research, but send in the clones &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Illinois scientist Richard Seed scared
the bejeezus out of all of us Wednesday in vowing to clone a human being in
two yearsPoliticians threatened legislation. The press fretted over ethics.
Much of the public just shuddered. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But the real fear is not that Seed will succeed- science and his own
history suggest he probably won't- but that the hysteria and hype surrounding
his announcement will harm worthwhile, and less sensational, research. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that Seed, a physicist, has no formal
training in reproductive biology. He was convicted of a misdemeanor in a 1990
medical malpractice case and failed in an attempt to establish a chain of
fertility centers in the 1980s, according to press reports. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Real experts in the field say human cloning techniques could help infertile
couples who are unable to conceive using other methods. We have learned to
accept fertility drugs, in vitro fertilization and surrogate motherhood
without the collapse of Western civilization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Granted, there are countless unanswered questions about cloning. But aside
from the technique used for conception, children produced through cloning
would be carried, born and, presumably, raised just like everyone else. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And making babies is just the most obvious, and newsworthy, use for
cloning. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The technique might also be used to grow tissue for transplants using a
patient's own cells, thereby eliminating the problem of the body's tendency to
reject foreign organs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Human cloning is coming, like it or not. A law banning research in the
United States would not stop similar work in other countries. Rather than
seeking a total ban, the American government should pass tight regulations on
researchers in the field. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Such laws would probably ensure that Seed, reproductive science's
equivalent of a snake-oil salesman, will not be remembered as a human-cloning
pioneer in the next millennium's textbooks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the leading scientists in the field worry that Seed's media splash will
harm their work

Regulate The Research, But Send In The Clones 
Like A Modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Illinois Scientist Richard Seed Scared The 
Bejeezus Out Of All Of Us Wednesday In Vowing To Clone A Human Being In Two 
Years.

Regulate The Research, But Send In The Clones Like A Modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Illinois Scientist Richard Seed Scared The Bejeezus Out Of All Of Us Wednesday In Vowing To Clone A Human Being In Two Years.