Human reproductive cloning: the time is near

Reproductive cloning today continues to preoccupy the general public and its critics in a very controversial and often misleading manner. We, in the field of scientific and reproductive medicine, realize that our responsibilities are quite numerous and extremely delicate. It was not too long ago that we witnessed the atmosphere at the National Academy of Sciences hearing in Washington, DC (August 2001) on the topic of human reproductive cloning, although not entirely militated against by its concomitant scholarly document (National Academy of Sciences, 2002; Simpson and Edwards, 2003). As one of the invited participants, it was evident from the behaviour of the NAS members and their invited guests that this hearing was scheduled not to discuss the topic of human reproductive cloning, but rather to condemn it. From the beginning of our efforts, we have never stated that we intended to create the first cloned embryo and the first human being for reproductive purposes by ignoring the public’s concerns and the scientific critics. We also never intended to ignore the contradictory results that scientists in the field of animal cloning have obtained during the past years. We merely wanted to learn from all the difficulties that the animal cloning experts encountered, in order to take the criticisms and the public’s concerns as seriously as possible and turn them into positive developments. It was quite evident to us from the beginning of this debate that with further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved during the processes of embryogenesis, careful tailoring of subsequently