VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHT BY USE OF HUMAN

CLONING
A blessing which enhances the mind,
And yet a demon which erodes the spirit.
The knowledge, the power of Science:
As each advancement is made,
As each theory is proposed,
Man may become too strong, too intelligent.
While the door to practical explanation is opened,
We must be all too careful not to shut the door on Him.
We cannot sacrifice our beliefs,
Our ideals,
Our souls,
Religion.
- Melsa Clarke1

Submitted To: Submitted By:

AIHRA Gaurav Singh

3rd Year

INTODUCTION
1
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/279/5358/1858

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The first successful experiment of cloning was done in 1952 by Robert Briggs
and Thomas J. King, they cloned a tadpole. The first mammal successful
cloning on an adult sheep (named Dolly) by Scottish scientist at the Roslin
Institute in 1997.

The debate on cloning already arose in 1966, by the Noble prize winner scientist
Joshua Lederbery, he speaks in favour of cloning and genetic engineering.

James D. Watson, Nobel laureate publicized the potential and the threat of
cloning in his Atlantic monthly essay, “moving toward the clonal man in 19712.

After the successful experiment on Sheep, further experiment carries on twenty-

two fertile mice by process of nuclear transfer from adult ovarian cell by Ryuzo
Yanagimachi of University of Hawalli, USA3. These experiments create alarm
and debates all around the world on cloning or about possibility of human
cloning.

What Is Cloning?

"Cloning" defined by the Inter-Academy Panel on International Issues,

statement on Human Cloning (Trieste, Italy, 22 September 2003) as follows:

Cloning of an organism commonly involves a technique called somatic

cell nuclear transfer, where the nucleus of an egg cell (containing its genetic
material) is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a somatic cell taken from
the body of an adult4.”

TYPE OF HUMAN CLONING

2
James Waston, “Moving Towards a Clonal man: Is This What We Want?” The Atlantic Monthly (1971),
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human cloning.
3
Ajai Kumar; Human Cloning; A Socio-Legal and ethical Appraisal, 52 JILI (2010) 92.
4
Shih, Ching-Pou, "Moral and Legal Issues Concerning Contemporary Human Cloning Technology: Quest for
Regulatory Consensus in the International Community to Safeguard Rights and Liberties Essential to the Future
of Humanity" (2010).

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There are mainly two type of Human cloning; Therapeutic cloning and
Reproductive cloning.

Therapeutic cloning, or so-called biomedical cloning, involves the creation of a

cloned embryo used to derive stem cells or tissues after the embryo is grown to
a fatal stage for transplantation. Stem cells are primordial cells capable of
developing into a variety of types of cells and have potential to grow in to any
tissue or organ in the body. Instead of being implanted in a female's womb and
brought to term, the goal of this technique is to generate stem cells with healthy
genes and culture them in petri dishes with the intent of providing replacement
tissue and organs for the patient who has defective genes or damaged tissue and
organs5.

The Reproductive cloning technology involved in generating a living being that

has the same nuclear DNA as another already existing organism is called as
reproductive cloning. This type of cloning uses the process called somatic cell
transfer. This process makes the process of genetic material from the nucleus of
a donor cell to an egg cell possible. The process, in fact removes the nucleus
from the egg cell so that all the genetic material present in that egg is separated.
After that the genetic material present in the donor cell is inserted into it. After
the stimulation and once the cell division starts, the clone embryo is placed in
the uterus of a female6.

Law Related to Human Cloning in India

5
Ibid.
6
Adv. Rakesh Vishan & Ms. Swati Vishan; Human Cloning: Perspectives, Ethical Issues and Legal
Implications, Bharati Law Review, Jan. – March, 2017

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In India, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 1998 had prepared
ethical guidelines pertaining to research in stem cells under the chairmanship of
former Supreme Court Justice MN Venkatachalaiah, called as the 'ICMR
Code'. This code, while asking to enact a law banning human cloning, stipulates
a time-limit for research on embryos as 14 days when the embryo is still in the
developmental stage. As per the ICMR code 'Harm cannot be done to such an
organism until the capacity for sentience has been established.' More recently,
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has asked ICMR to provide ethical
guidelines on therapeutic cloning. According to DBT, reproductive cloning is
unanimously opposed; but therapeutic cloning is still in nascent stage. The
purpose of therapeutic cloning is to create only early-stage embryos from which
stem cells could be harvested that could yield perfectly matched tissues. So far,
stem cells have been sourced from spare embryos in IVF clinics7.

India permits cloning of animals, and encourages regulated research in this area.
India allows use of embryonic and somatic stem cells for research purposes,
allows the creation of a human zygote by SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer) or any other method and therapeutic cloning but restricted. India
allows restricted research involving introduction of human stem cells and
somatic cells into animals (including primates), at embryonic or foetal stages of
development8.

How Human Cloning violate Human Rights

7
http://www.bioline.org.br/request?jp03001
8
https://www.endorphins-healthcare.com/legal.php

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  Article 11 of Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human
Rights, 1997, states that, "Practices which are contrary to human dignity,
such as reproductive cloning of human beings, shall not be permit”.
 It violates individual Right to privacy.
 Every Human being have a right to proper health but due to human
cloning, it threatened people’s rights to have proper health.
 Article 1 of the 1998 Additional Protocol on the Prohibition of Cloning
Human Beings provides, "Any intervention seeking to create a human
being genetically identical to another human being, whether living or
dead, is prohibited”
 Every human being has procreative liberty in form of moral right which
has been accepted as Human rights in International covenant.
 Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that,
the Human genome in a symbolic sense is the heritage of humanity.
 It violates Article 6 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948
which said that, Non-discrimination with respect to genetic
characteristic.
 Genetically identical human beings violate the dignity and integrity of
human beings, both as individual and as members of the human species.
 It violates rights of unborn child. A child in mother’s womb have all
human rights as a normal human being. Under Indian Penal Code, injury
to child in womb is a punishable offence.

Conclusion
The human cloning has both positive and negative sides but as per my
conclusion, cloning will pose a threat to the identity of the individual persons. It
is against the law of nature or mankind. It has lots of benefit but no guarantee

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that, this technology will not be misused by the people in future. It violates
many human rights of individuals. It is misused in many ways that will be really
threat for human society and moral ethics of human being.