Curiosity, which is a driving force of Science, will ruin it out of 99% of good intentions. Residual 1% of fears and suspicions will be far away from stopping curiosity.

In this article, we will look at why I'm thinking against human cloning, what the reasons for my position are, and why I offend to continue research in this field.

First of all, we will be looking at what human cloning is. Secondly, we will look at the technical state of human cloning. Here we will focus on applications for producing medical materials for transplantation. Once we have identified the state of the technology, we will discuss the problems which makes me take a stand against human cloning. Finally, we will see in what way we can stop human cloning.

Human cloning is a technic to reproduce human 100% genetically identical to one person. Technically, cloned humans will be produced by using adult cells as genetic sources. Which means that genetic information is 100% identical between original and clone. In short, by human cloning we will obtain genetically identical humans from adult cells in the desired numbers.


Although specific technology has not yet been well defined, it seems that human cloning will really be possible technically in the future not so distant. Several recent successes in cloning mammalian animals in different laboratory represent a major breakthrough in this technology. Further research for cloning in human should be now going on throughout the world. If these research going on, technical barriers to human cloning are sure to be broken. If researches do not stop, it would become possible in the first half of the 21st century in the experimental level.


In term of application, now researchers are thinking of using human cloning technology for developing medical materials. Among the varieties of problems provoked by human cloning technology, we will focus on the plan to use it for organ transplant stock. This is the region where needs are direct. As a consequence, the plan is advancing with less resistance. Since human cloning is rapidly becoming possible, we really should consider whether we want to continue research or we should stop before we succeed. Not only looking at their proposed needs, we also have to consider what the usage of clone human as organ donor means to human society and at the same time to individuals.


Applications of scientific discovery to human living have been done all through the human history. From historical viewpoint for human beings, application resulted in good and bad. In one side, these application benefit people. On the other side, results were to make poor, famine, illness, etc. War crime is one of the major events in which scientific application play important roles.

For scientific research, pure curiosity to knowledge is the most important motivation. Besides that, in order to do researches, beforehand scientists need money to carry it. This system affects scientist to choose what to research, how to research. At the same time, scientists are asked to make the result applicable for human society. No matter researching in public sector or private sector, this situation is similar. Scientific level of research in human cloning is advancing on in these stream of scientific research system.

>From this viewpoint, we can also describe the situation as follows. Producer of scientific research, who pay for it, intend to advance human cloning research. Moreover, they prefer to make that technology "useful". For the moment in the scientific research, producers are public government=tax payers, foundation for research, individual donor etc. We can consider that they represent public opinion's majority.

If we consider the plan to use clone human for organ transplant, unhappiness in human society like illnesses, incidents, disabilities are their targets to solve, which looks reasonable. Organ transplant requires identity of genetic type between donor and recipient. Organ has to be offered at good timing and should be as fresh as possible. These make organ transplant difficult. Organ transplant from clone human, in which genetic type is identical and is ready for use at a desired time, is expected to solve these problems. Now the question is use of clone human as organ stock is really good things for human society or not. Behind their needs and reasons, we will uncover problems in the following part.

If we can develop medical materials developed from one's own genetic information, it seems best medical treatment. But it is not true. If we use clone humans as a material source for medical treatment, it means that we are surrendering one's cloned human for original human's treatment. The important point is that clone humans are also humans. There is no biological difference between clones and originals after they are developed. This is exactly the reason that clone is called so. In order to develop cloned humans to be possibly used as material sources, it is necessary to grow them until they are ready. Which means that clones should be grown for ten years or so. Then we would sacrifice them for medical treatment. Which means that clone humans would be surrendered after ten years of their life. Surrendering one human for the cause of medical treatment, it is not medical treatment. It is murder.

I heard that some researchers are thinking that developing imperfect clone human, headless human for instance, would be a good clue for this conflict. I here described "heard" because these information as "people are going on some research" is difficult to verify. But I could find quite a few conversation on these plan and wide distribution of its records. They might think that if clone human is biologically different from original human, there would be no more conflict between two human since clone is imperfect human and not human. This idea was led by recent progress in understanding how animal body is developed, accompanied by broad accumulation of knowledge in genetic information of human.

Technically we can imagine that they are thinking of manipulating gene in the stage of embryo to born to be imperfect or treat clone human to develop imperfectly. But developing imperfect human in order not to have hesitation for surrendering is from the beginning a part of murder. Saying this as a part of medical treatment is like cheating. Emotionally speaking, these are grotesque reasoning and grotesque circumstances.

But, the situation is that both the cloned human and imperfect clone human will become technically possible if researches go through ahead. At the same time if clone human are available, transferring one organ from clone to original would be less problematic in term of medical technique.


When we consider social cost, if there are no medical needs clone human has to be scraped. This could also be called long term murder since clone human is developed until it is scraped. At the same time, these research will cost a lot which will leads other research to be suppressed. Application of this technic will also cost a lot, which will suppress other medical treatment. They could possibly be linked to starvation as a side effect.

Considering these things all, we now should decide if we continue our human cloning research ahead or not.

In short, unacceptable possible usage of cloned humans and their cost for society make me takes a stand against human cloning and the continuation of research for it.

I am thinking that science and technology should be used for human's happiness. Which should not cause sacrifice in one side. Using clone human as a medical material is just a sacrifice of human, which is against human happiness in this side. Doing research for developing clone human means abandoning other research, which means abandon other human. These are not good choice as a scientific research.


As a conclusion, I am thinking that we should stop research on human cloning immediately. Research in human cloning is advancing, lead by needs for organ transplantation, where needs and reasons seem clear. I hereby described to stop it by uncovering facts for unhappiness of human society. Researches are advancing in varieties of field in variety of countries. It is difficult to stop everything. On the other hand, once technologies are available, it is almost impossible to stop their use, even in the worst way. As a consequence, stopping research could be only done by researchers themselves who are working on it. Without doubt, for human cloning and its application, it needs plenty of researchers in varieties of field in a organized cooperative way. Contrarily, if we can stop even a single part of it, we can stop advances of whole research and application.

Even though scientific researches are driven by curiosity, if we can suppose that one could lead to unhappiness to human society, that has to be blocked. This could only be done by intent of researchers, which avoid to make science becoming human's enemy. Unfortunately, in the history, researchers could not have stopped overstepping of science. Learning by scientist from this history to the depth of their hearts would be the only power for stopping it. I should admit that scientists who are already involved in this field are generally less sensitive. Closeness to the technology and its possibility makes people less sensitive to its negative sides. Public opinion posing to researchers will make it move.

Scientific research are as a result now destroying our earth environment, and furthermore going to destroy human society. Human cloning technology and organ transplant are fundamental turning points for human society and at the same time for individual human's honor. For the continuation of happy human society, we need to stop it before it overcomes its turning points.


by Yoshio OKADA, Paris+Versailles, FRANCE,
Hopefully a researcher in life sciece, an artist, and a rugby player

(June, 9, 1999)