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Clone Rights United Front
Legality of Seizing a Cloned Child |
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PRESS RELEASE JANUARY 2, 2003 Is Cloning a Form of Child Abuse? / Nadav Mazor, Esq.
In a recent CNN news report it was stated that an attorney in Florida, Bernard Siegel, filed a petition to appoint a guardian for the first clone child. This came on the heels of the announcement on December 26 in Florida by Clonaid that they cloned an American citizen producing a healthy child, Eve.
According to the news report, the alleged basis for appointing a guardian was that the act of cloning, a “far-edge scientific experiment”, is exploitation of Eve tantamount to child abuse.
The instigation of this legal action poses the question whether cloning can be considered a form of child abuse?
The underlying claim of abuse here does not relate to maltreatment or neglect of Eve, but rather to the manner in which she was conceived. The actual cloning was performed prior to Eve’s achieving a pre-embryonic stage and since that point she was gestated in a normal manner and was born healthy, according to Clonaid.
At present there is no Federal or State law regarding child abuse that would be applicable to the above facts. The claim is ultimately nothing more than that Eve was wrongfully conceived. Child abuse laws are meant to protect born, that is living, children, under the age of 18, who suffer abuse (physical or mental abuse, sex abuse, exploitation, neglect treatment, or maltreatment) by another person. However, legally speaking, human embryos can not be abused or be exploited.
A few states have created statutory protection for a fetus in instances of drug or alcohol abuse of the gestating mother. Similarly, some states have also enacted legislation which relates to the murder of a fetus by harm inflicted on the mother. However, those laws protect a fetus in vivo, not embryonic life in vitro. Expanding those laws to include in virto embryos, particularly as to the creation of the embryo, is too far reaching.
If Eve is found to be deformed due to the cloning, a malpractice cause of action may arise against Clonaid. If however, she is healthy as claimed, no cause of action would exist. A claim that cloning was too experimental would not be enough because no court has yet upheld a cause of action for “wrongful life”.
The only potentially viable claim of exploitative abuse in this case may arise if Clonaid consistently presents Eve as the first clone for their own gain in terms of publicity, profit or promotion of religion. Such exposure and presentation must first be proven to adversely affect Eve’s emotional or mental well-being and health. To assume that at this stage is too early. |