After reading this great synthesis by Chip Bennett at cb.blog I realized that altered nuclear transfer (ANT) maybe a Trojan horse.
First, let me explain altered nuclear transfer. Dr. William Hurlbut of Stanford, in an effort to present alternatives to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) better known as cloning, came up with the idea for ANT. In ANT, the somatic cell nucleus is altered before it is placed in the emptied egg, creating what Dr. Hurlbut calls a biological artifact, not a human embryo. This biological artifact could then be used to grow embryonic stem cells. I have written on ANT before.
I believe that Dr. Hurlbut should be commended for his efforts to provide an alternative to cloning to obtain "patient-specific" embryonic stem cells, but there is disagreement on whether this is ethical research. Some worry that ANT would create a crippled embryo instead of a biological artifact. And, ANT still needs eggs like SCNT.
But, I do not want to discuss the merits and ethical implications of ANT right now. I want to discuss how ANT is being used as a way to pave the way to SCNT, instead of diverting the road away from it as intended.
Awhile back, I was alerted to this approach by a reader who sent me an editorial in a Catholic diocese newspaper. (Thanks Charlie!) I can't print it here as it was by subscription only, but I will relate the upshot. The Catholic paper advocated lifting their state's ban on cloning to allow for ANT research. It is true many Catholics are in disagreement over ANT, but lifting the ban on cloning would also allow for SCNT which the Church explicitly condemns. I thought that this editorial was not only strange but also utterly misleading. I just chalked it up to a misunderstanding by the author.
Enter Sen. Jim Talent, who has retracted his support for a ban on all human cloning (SCNT) in the Senate. From the Kansas City Star: (which is pretty much sick of the Clone the Truth campaign, because all of their articles have errors, this one is no exception)
Sen. Jim Talent on Friday withdrew as co-sponsor of a bill that would ban all human cloning and make it a crime for anyone to take part in the process.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Talent said the alternative research made the bill unnecessary. The new research - called altered nuclear transfer - would provide common ground for people on all sides of the issue, he said.
Like the Catholic newspaper, Sen. Talent has given de facto support to SCNT by not moving to ban it citing his support for ANT as the reason.
This is crazy! Of course, a federal ban on SCNT is still "necessary" whether you support ANT or not. Also, if Dr. Hurlbut is correct, ANT is not therapeutic cloning in the strict sense because it does not create a cloned embryo, and therefore it would not be subject to the cloning ban being debated in the Senate. And, I am sure Talent's reasoning for taking back his support for a ban on cloning was not what Dr. Hurlbut had in mind when he envisioned ANT.
Let's get a ban on SCNT which for sure creates a cloned embryo and could lead to reproductive cloning and then discuss the merits of ANT later.
Because of the widespread confusion surrounding cloning and its alternatives, I have a sinking feeling that we will be seeing more this "Trojan horse" reasoning in the future.