In this blog post, we explore the human rights of cloned babies born from nuclear replacement technology, and whether the ethical and spiritual implications of this technology are being fully considered.
In 1997, the unveiling of Dolly, a cloned sheep created by replacing the nucleus of an adult sheep’s somatic cell, kick-started the debate about the possibility of human cloning, which has become an important ethical issue in the scientific community. Dolly’s arrival had such a profound impact that the organizers of the Oxford Amnesty Lecture unusually chose to address the topic of science and human rights for the second year in a row. In the nearly two decades since, there has been a lively debate about human cloning from technical, ethical, and social perspectives, with human rights issues being one of the key issues in the debate. Proponents of cloning see nuclear replacement technology as a tool to ensure reproductive autonomy, similar to artificial insemination, while opponents raise generalized issues that affect humanity as a whole, including questions of human dignity and instrumentalization.
This blog post will focus on the human rights of “cloned babies” in particular, because while issues like human dignity and reproductive autonomy are important, it’s not human rights activists or parents who will be most affected by nuclear replacement technology, it’s the “cloned babies” who will be born from it. Therefore, even when all the technical issues are resolved and human cloning technology is stabilized, it’s important to fully discuss the impact on cloned babies.
Before we get into the discussion, it’s important to note that this blog post assumes that “children born from genetic cloning technology are informed of their cloning before the age of 7.” This is similar to the question of when and how to inform children in the adoption process. Adoption can be divided into “open adoption” and “secret adoption,” and Han Yeon-hee, former president of the Korea Adoption Promotion Association, emphasized that open adoption has a positive impact on both the adopted child and the parents. In addition, Lee Bo-yeon, a child counselor, explained that it is easier for a child to accept the adoption before the age of 7 and helps them establish a sense of identity. We will apply these adoption cases to children born through nuclear transfer and discuss the assumption that it is best to disclose the cloning before the age of 7.
Having a child with nuclear replacement technology falls into two main categories. The first is cloning with genes from one of the parents, in which case the child will grow up to look like the parent who provided the nucleus. This is one of the examples John Harrison gave to demonstrate that human cloning by nuclear replacement is ethically acceptable. Harrison was the first to cite the case of creating a child from the chromosomes of an infertile husband and the mitochondrial DNA of his wife. The second case is cloning with a donated nucleus from a third party other than the parents. The donor can be a relative, a biological child, or a third party with good traits.
First, let’s consider a situation where a child cloned with the genes of one of their parents is told before the age of 7 that they are cloned. From the moment they are born, a cloned child will grow up seeing themselves 20 or 30 years in the future, which can lead to a number of problems as they grow up. Because they can see their future self growing up with the same physical appearance as them, cloned children run the risk of having fewer fantasies and expectations for their own future. Research has shown that fantasy, curiosity, and anticipation have a positive impact on emotional development during childhood, and in cloned babies, these fantasies may be weakened, which could negatively impact emotional development. During adolescence, cloned children may also experience stress as they see themselves becoming more like their parents, especially during the period of secondary sexual characteristics and physical appearance changes, and their physical resemblance to their parents may cause feelings of rejection and helplessness. In adulthood, observing the aging and death of their parents can also lead to depression or feelings of helplessness as they become aware of their own physical limitations.
Children cloned with a third-party nucleus will also face a variety of challenges, one of which is that it is difficult to clearly define who their parents are. While the social parent raising the cloned child can be clearly defined, the biological parent may be defined differently. Since a cloned child’s physical traits come entirely from the person who provided the nucleus, the nucleus provider can be viewed as the genetic parent. The egg provider can also be considered a genetic parent because they contribute some traits through their mitochondrial DNA. In the case of a birth through surrogacy, the surrogate may also be considered a biological parent, so there may be as many as five people who contributed to the child’s birth. This can be confusing for the child.
Whether the nuclear provider is a parent or a third party, there are also common issues that arise. Parents who wish to use nuclear replacement technology may intentionally choose their child’s traits. This can lead the child to feel that both their good and bad traits were determined by the parent, and there is a risk that resentment of the bad traits will be directed back at the parent.
As such, nuclear replacement technology can have a number of adverse effects on children’s lives. While this technology may seem to promote human rights in the sense that it gives people the right to reproductive autonomy, when considering the confusion and mental stress that cloned children will experience, it can be seen as a selfish act that disregards the human rights of the next generation. Therefore, if nuclear replacement technology is to be adopted in practice, measures must be taken to recognize cloned children as independent individuals and to provide them with honest information about the circumstances of their birth so that they can establish a sense of identity. If these measures are not taken, human cloning through nuclear replacement technology will go down in history as one of the worst technologies that disregards the lives of the next generation in favor of the rights of the current generation.
