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Print7 Healthcast: First Cloned Baby
Delivering a cloning controversy, a cloned baby is about to be born. A fertility doctor says the baby boy is doing well and will make his appearance in January. 7's Janet Wu explains why some feel this experiment could end in disaster.
This maverick Italian doctor has been trying to clone a human baby for nearly two years. Now, he claims his controversial vision, has become a reality. The first cloned human embryo is allegedly healthy and just weeks from being born.
Dr. Severino Antinori, Claims Human Cloning
"Three weeks... The first week of January."
Theoretically, human cloning has been possible ever since "Dolly" the sheep was created. But experts say that there are overwhelming reasons to ban the cloning of humans.
Suzi Leather, Human Fertility Specialist
"There are huge safety problems, let alone ethical problems... Most have problems... Even those that come to full term… Dolly the sheep indeed shows signs of premature aging. It's difficult to know why any woman in possession of the facts would have agreed to take part in what is essentially a human experiment."
Dr. Antinori claims he just wants to help infertile couples. But right now his work is illegal in Britain and many feel it should stay that way.
Doctor Antinori is the same doctor who helped a 60-year old woman become a mother. He claims the cloned embryo is healthy. But many medical experts say, it's impossible to know the long term outlook. Many cloning experiments on animals have ended in disaster.