Transcript of Panel Discussion - Human cloning, with Julie McCrossin, 'Life Matters', Radio National
MCCROSSIN: An American medical research company this week announced that it had used cloning to create an early human embryo. The company, Advanced Cell Technology, stressed the cloned human embryo it created is only for the harvesting of stem cells, not for the creation of a new human being. Supporters say science must push the boundaries and explore new fields and help relieve the suffering many people experience with conditions like Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease. Critics, of course, say we're playing God in the laboratory and there'll be a price attached to cloning. So today on Rear View we're discussing the implications of this new technology as we penetrate this brave new world. And we'll hope to bring some clarity to quite a complex debate.
Dr Gregory Pike is Deputy Director of the Southern Cross Bio-ethics Institute based in Adelaide. Dr Trevor Mudge is the Federal Vice President of the Australian Medical Association, and he also chairs the AMA's Ethics Committee, and he joins us from Canberra. And Dr Susan Haws
MCCROSSIN: Sorry, mate, it's the medium I'm afraid.
MUDGE: Yeah, sure, these things happen. Well I think the key thing to say is that you don't progress without research. You don't cure disease without research. Research involves often difficult ethical decisions where you have to balance the good for the many versus the harm to the few. And I think the balance is certainly one that society needs to debate and I think it's very good that mornings like this are contributing to it, Julie.
MCCROSSIN: Thank you. And, Dr Susan Haws from the Monash Institute, one brief message to the legislators as they try to think out what sort of federal legislation they need?
HAWES: Well, I think that people should realise that it's very possible to regulate this work so that the community feels eased by the fact that there aren't mad scientists - as you say - there that are really trying to clone human embryos. I mean this work is not really to develop that sort of thing. It's to alleviate disease that is very prevalent in our society. And I think that there are models that we can regulate embryo research. There are models that we can regulate research for transplantations. And I think that it's important that people realise that can be done...
MCCROSSIN: Look, thank you so much to all of you for your assistance. Thank you to Dr Susan Haws from the Monash Institute. Thank you to Dr Gregory Pike from the Southern Cross Bio-Ethics Institute, and Dr Trevor Mudge from the AMA.
Ends