REGULATION OF REPRODUCTIVE CLONING AND INHERITABLE GENETIC MODIFICATIONS ON HUMANS - PERILS AND DEFICIENCIES

Harms arising from reproductive cloning or inheritable genetic modifications, for the time being, seem significant. This is supported by the simple fact that the first cloned monkeys were short-lived or by the fact that inheritable genetic modifications still carry a high chance of getting “off-target” results, which could result in serious health problems. Inheritable genetic modifications, in particular, have a high therapeutic potential, and it is suggested that this technology’s comprehension is shifting from an absolute ban, to concerns over safety issues. International law can prove to be facilitative when it comes to deciding which new technology should be prohibited, restricted or allowed, having in mind possible consequences and the so-called phenomenon of reproductive tourism. Legally binding regulation of both technologies has proven challenging at the universal level. However, there has been some progress in Europe on that matter. Harms arising from inheritable genetic modifications seem even higher than in the case of reproductive cloning, since they have the potential to affect the whole of humanity, including future generations. The Criminal Code of Serbia and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia prohibit reproductive cloning. However, the prohibition of inheritable genetic modifications on humans is not regulated explicitly in the Criminal Code of Serbia, making this technology seem more acceptable or less harmful.

Cloning and Embryo Splitting in Mammalians: Brief History, Methods, and Achievements

Embryo splitting is one of the newest developed methods in reproductive biotechnology. In this method, after splitting embryos in 2-, 4-, and even 8-cell stages, every single blastomere can be developed separately, but the embryos are genetically identical. Embryo splitting, as an approach in reproductive cloning, is extensively employed in reproductive medicine studies, such as investigating human diseases, treating sterility, embryo donation, and gene therapy. In the present study, cloning in mammalians and cloning approaches are briefly reviewed. In addition, embryo splitting and the methods commonly used in embryo splitting and recent achievements in this field, as well as the applications of embryo splitting into livestock species, primate animals, and humans, are outlined. Finally, a perspective of embryo splitting is provided as the conclusion.

Cloning, mitochondrial replacement and genome editing: 25 years of ethical debate since Dolly

The birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996 elicited a tsunami of commentaries, both in the popular media and academic journals, including responses to the prospect of human reproductive cloning. Much of the anxiety expressed over this imagined consequence of Dolly’s genesis revealed fundamental concerns about our losing our commitments to certain ethical goods, such as human dignity, or even ‘what it means to be human’. Over the last 25 years, the focus of much of the ethical debate over human biotechnology has slowly shifted towards other genetic technologies that aim to influence inheritance, such as mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) and heritable genome editing. Genome editing, in particular, is a technology with multiple fields of application, actual and potential, in research and innovation. In this review, I suggest that many of the fundamental concerns about the possibility of human reproductive cloning that were precipitated by Dolly persist today in the arguments of those who oppose MRT and any use of heritable human genome editing (HHGE). Whilst I do not accept that an understanding of human nature and dignity alone can demonstrate the ethical unacceptability of such assisted reproductive technologies, there are themes of justice, which extend into our relationships with animals, that demand continued wide-ranging examination and public deliberation. Dolly has cast a long shadow over such discussions, but I suggest that the general existential angst over human uses of biotechnology that she came to symbolise is neither compulsory, nor a reliable guide for how to think about biotechnologies today.

What the ancient greeks would say about cyborgs and artificial intelligence: a thought experiment

How can technologies affect human nature? If the nature of human beings changes, one wonders: in which direction? These problems are actively discussed today by philosophers, sociologists and political scientists, representatives of religious denominations, etc. One of the points of view, which can be conditionally called “anthropomorphic”, boils down to the fact that the combination of man and machine is unacceptable, as this leads to anti-humanism, and one must follow the path of improving the Human Body. "Transhumanists" or "post-humanists", on the other hand, say that everything that can be done must be done and progress cannot be stopped. The point of compromise is to comply with the “red line”: to prohibit reproductive cloning, but to allow the use of biotechnologies, for example, to treat people. The article also tried to implement a kind of mental experiment and to evaluate the technological trends indicated from the position of the ancient philosophers, mainly Socrates and Plato. The authors suggest that ancient philosophers could give ambiguous assessments.

Assessing Human Reproductive Cloning and Creationism from the Perspectives of Raelianism and African Belief

This paper appraised the issues involved in human reproductive cloning and creationism from the standpoints of Raelian religion and African traditional belief. The methods adopted are descriptive and evaluative. The findings include the fact that human cloning is one of the religious tenets of Raelianism; and that African tradition and culture totally reject reproductive cloning on the ground of its unnaturalness. Finally, the paper from the African traditional paradigm concluded that human reproductive cloning is totally condemnable and should not be practiced on human beings on the ground of unnaturalness, distortion, negation, imperfection, and aberration.

Religion, Morality, and Public Policy

This chapter explores how religious convictions have functioned in the debate about whether human reproductive cloning should be banned, regulated, or permitted—a debate that erupted in 1997 following the belated announcement of “Dolly’s” birth. This historical case study examines and assesses the arguments that arose at the time, particularly in the context of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) report Cloning Human Beings. The NBAC hearings included testimony on religious views on human reproductive cloning, and its report examined and assessed those views. The chapter also considers NBAC’s deliberations about federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research that further illuminates the place of religious convictions in public bioethics. It concludes that in public bioethics the process of reaching a decision—or, in NBAC’s case, a recommendation—should attend to the widest possible range of positions and rationales, but that the outcome in substance and in public justification needs to involve, as Robert Audi argues, a sufficient or adequate secular reason.

THE RIGHT TO CLONE: SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONTEMPORARY DISCOURSE

The aim: The paper aims to analyze some aspects of the contemporary discourse which concern the determination of the content and specificity of the right to clone. It also outlines the main trends in the development of legal regulation of cloning within international and national law and order. Materials and methods: Methodologically, this work is based on the system of methods, scientific approaches, techniques and principles with the help of which the realization of the research aim is carried out. There have been applied universal, general scientific and special legal methods. Conclusions: Regarding the findings of the study it is necessary to note the following. First, if there is a shared negative vision of the feasibility of reproductive cloning in general, which is enshrined in international and national legislation, the need for therapeutic cloning remains an unresolved issue. Secondly, medicine advances and accordingly sees new perspectives and innovative developments in the field of therapeutic activity, in particular, related to the results of therapeutic cloning, which can help in the fight against incurable diseases. Hence, there is the necessity of further research aimed at the improvement of the existing mechanisms for implementing therapeutic cloning, and determining its limits and procedural aspects.

ԹԵՐԱՊԵՎՏԻԿ (ԲՈՒԺԱԿԱՆ) ԿԼՈՆԱՎՈՐՄԱՆ ԿԻՐԱՌՄԱՆ ԻՐԱՎԱԿԱՆ ՀԻՄՆԱԽՆԴԻՐՆԵՐԸ ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԻ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՈՒՄ/THE PROBLEMATIC LEGAL ISSUES OF THERAPEUTIC (MEDICAL) CLONING IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA/ОБ ОСНОВНЫХ ПРАВОВЫХ ПРОБЛЕМАХ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ ТЕРАПЕВТИЧЕСКОГО (МЕДИЦИНСКОГО) КЛОНИРОВАНИЯ В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ АРМЕНИЯ

The article is focusing on the problematic legal issues of therapeutic (medical) cloning. The paper analyzes the definition, types, purpose of the cloning, prospects for the use of therapeutic cloning; the paper also highlights the problems in this field and proposes suggestions to clarify them. Based on the analysis, it also provides conclusions regarding the legislative amendments and addendums related to the clarification and improvement of the cloning institute. The paper refers to the incomplete legal regulation of this institute, in particular the absence of special low of the Republic of Armenia on legal regulation of the cloning, the necessity to study the prospects for the regulation of international legislation on the prohibition of reproductive cloning and the development of therapeutic cloning.