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Student People

Dolly, human cloning, and bioethics

BMJ 2007; 334 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.070128 (Published 01 January 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;334:070128
  1. Christos Tziotzios, fifth year medical student1
  1. 1University of Cambridge

Ian Wilmut was behind the cutting edge research that gave rise to Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned animal. Christos Tziotzios finds out about his take on science, religion, and the bioethics of cloning

Do you believe in God?

I don't. I describe myself as agnostic.

Which religious or philosophical view is closest to your beliefs?

I emphasise that I am not a philosopher. I would most accurately describe myself as a utilitarian. The basis on which I would consider ethical matters would be to ask what the effects are on people or the environment of what you are proposing to do.

James frazer/rex

When does life start: conception, day 14, or birth?

Life clearly begins at fertilisation, with the embryo having the potential to become a person. But to make ethical judgments you have to consider whether the value of that human being at fertilisation is the same as after birth. And I believe it is not. It is weeks before the primitive central nervous system forms: cortex and consciousness. The critical stage is clearly when that level is reached. I haven't actually tried to find out, but I don't think that anyone would know when that is. When it comes down to preimplantation embryos, I am confident that it is a long time after that.

Most geneticists think day 14 is the critical point

This is a conservative estimate. All you have then is first germ cells and then the blastocyst, and all you have on day 14 is the beginning of the primitive streak. It will be a long time until you have a functional central nervous system. My assumption would be that the Warnock committee, which decided and recommended this, was trying to establish a conservative boundary to provide reassurance to the public.

The Christian view is that life begins at conception

This …

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