Three questions follow which may be considered by many as sensational or even outrageous on the subject of human cloning. Admittedly, the ideas do bring about a sense of awe. They are included here to stimulate open- ended discussions into what may be actual results of human cloning, as it is known, today. Because of the very nature of cloning technology, these situations will become realities should individuals be allowed to legally practice cloning in this country.
The questions are taken from Lee Silver’s Remaking Eden . The information which follows each question briefly summarizes Silver’s research and is offered to aid you in your discussion of cloning as a reproductive choice. Each summarized response is followed by a citation note which indicates a range of pages where further clarification of the information can be found in the text.
-Could a woman give birth to her identical twin sister?
Consider the futuristic account of Jennifer and Rachel which begins in the year Jennifer is a thirty-five year old single woman who wants to have a child. Jennifer is well aware that cloning is illegal under federal law, except in the case of infertile women. Unlike twentieth century women who had to rely on sperm donated by a male, Jennifer decided to use her own cells to create new life.
A dozen or so eggs are recovered from Jennifer’s ovaries and each is fused with a donor cell taken from the inside of her mouth. The incubated eggs yield healthy embryos that are then implanted into Jennifer’s uterus. Nine months later, a healthy baby girl, Rachel is born to Jennifer.
Clearly Jennifer is Rachel’s birth mother because Rachel was born from Jennifer’s body. Rachel has no father because there is no male involvement. Jennifer is not Rachel’s genetic mother. Genetically, Jennifer and Rachel are twin sisters. This means that Rachel’s genetic parents are the same as Rachel’s genetic parents. Rachel’s genetic parents are in reality the two people that are traditionally referred to as her grandparents. Fanciful? (5)
-Could a child have two genetic mothers?
Technically it is possible to produce a fully healthy child through the fusion of two embryos from two different women. The eggs are harvested from both women and each fertilized using donated sperm from one single donor. The fertilized eggs are then incubated for the necessary period. After which the selected embryos from each of the two women are pushed together. They immediately stick to each other. From what was two embryos, there is now only one. While there is more clinical work to be done the resulting embryo shares two genetic mothers. Amazing! (6)
-Could a man become pregnant?
“Is Male pregnancy possible? Probably yes . Is male pregnancy feasible? No, not at this time. It’s not just a question of whether the baby lives, but whether the pregnant man himself survives the birth.” The three ingredients that are essential for pregnancy are a fertilized egg, a hormonal environment to allow implantation and a living womb within which the embryo can grow and form a placenta. All of these occur naturally in a woman, but would have to be duplicated for a man’s body. Presently, that duplication is a far reach into the future technology of cloning.
Science offers as proof, the birth of Baby Louise in 1978 which has shown that a woman’s eggs can be fertilized in vitro. Those eggs can then be inserted into a man’s body through a tiny glass needle. That satisfies the first ingredient. The second ingredient is satisfied without new research. Doctors have already successfully stimulated the pregnancy environment in post menopausal women. With hormonal injections to stimulate the pregnancy environment, the implantation should likely take hold in a man in the same way that it does in a woman. That leaves the question of the living womb- the third and final ingredient. Again, science offers as proof, some abnormal pregnancies in which a woman’s abdomen acting as the womb have successfully resulted in live and healthy Cesarean births. Although many are dangerous to the mother and the fetus, some have occurred with positive results. While this kind of birth would represent a greater danger for men if spontaneous hemorrhaging occurred, the question remains. If a woman’s abdomen can act as a womb, why can’t a man’s?
The definitive answer(s) to the initial question are, “Yes,” male pregnancy is possible, but still, only through the help of a surrogate mother.. “No,” it is not likely to be tried by men or by clinicians who are asked to perform such a procedure for men. However, in our future, there will be males who will seek such a procedure and they will be accommodated. Think about that! (7)