| On April 3, 2002, Dr. Severino Antinori announced he | | | | Dr Antinori faces the outrage of those who oppose |
| had successfully implanted a cloned embryo into a | | | | the procedure on ethical and moral grounds. The |
| woman and that she was eight weeks pregnant. Dr. | | | | practice of human cloning is banned in Europe and |
| Antinori made his announcement while speaking at a | | | | formal legislation is now going through Congress in |
| conference on Healthcare Ethics in Abu Dhabi, United | | | | the United States. It is because of this reason that it |
| Arab Emirates. Sharing the stage with Dr. Antinori | | | | is of more than passing interest that the 'world |
| was Dr. Haris Silajdzic, a former Bosnian Prime Minister | | | | breaking' announcement was made at the Zayed |
| and Hisham Yousuf, a representative of the | | | | Centre in Abu Dhabi, as I feel this underscores a |
| Cairo-based Arab League. Dr. Antinori refused to | | | | subtle continuing shift of the centre of cloning |
| disclose either the location or the nationality of his | | | | research from the western World to Middle Eastern |
| pregnant patient. He admitted that there was 'risk | | | | and Asian localities. The United States has recently |
| involved' but said he had pursued screening to reduce | | | | placed a five-year moratorium and ban on human |
| the risk of any deformity before the embryo was | | | | cloning describing it as 'a violation of human rights'. It |
| implanted and that the outcomes of cloning differed | | | | has also allowed countries such as India and |
| widely between species. Dr. Antinori also insisted that | | | | Singapore to pursue stem cell technology on its |
| he was interested in therapeutic cloning and had to | | | | behalf. It is widely rumoured that China has already |
| pursue his work in that area in other countries as it is | | | | cloned many human embryos to use in therapeutic |
| outlawed in Italy. | | | | cloning and stem cell research. It now appears that |
| In 1998, Dr Antinori announced plans to use cloning | | | | the United Arab Emirates is interested in promoting |
| technology to help infertile couples have children. | | | | the Zayed Centre in Abu Dhabi in a new role of |
| British scientists to produce Dolly the sheep, the | | | | encouraging evolving scientific research within the |
| world's first vertebrate clone made from an adult | | | | Arab World. It is also acknowledged that officials |
| mammalian cell, had pioneered the technology. In | | | | such as the UAE Minister of Health Under-secretary |
| 2001, he predicted that he would complete the first | | | | Dr. Abdul Rahim Jaafar has more than a passing |
| human cloning operation within 18 months. The | | | | interest in making his nation the centre of cloning |
| 56-year-old was previously best known for his work | | | | research. He already has stated that he intends to |
| in in vitro fertilisation, and in particular for enabling | | | | group other Arab League countries, the East |
| women in their 50s and 60s to give birth. He shot to | | | | Mediterranean Region Office of the World Health |
| prominence in 1994 when he helped a 63-year-old | | | | Organization, the Islamic Organization for Medical |
| woman to have a baby by implanting a donor's | | | | Services and the International Association of Bioethics |
| fertilised egg in her uterus, making her the oldest | | | | together for the 2004 Congress of Bioethics, with |
| known women in the world to give birth. Dr Antinori | | | | the UAE as a possible venue for the event. He |
| told an Italian newspaper recently that more than | | | | stated recently that we should explore how to |
| 1,500 couples had volunteered as candidates for his | | | | preserve our fundamental human values and 'adhere |
| research programme, and it is known that he is | | | | to our respective religious teaching in channelling new |
| working in close co-operation with Dr Panos Zavos, | | | | scientific knowledge to benefit our fellow man'. |
| an American fertility expert. | | | | |