Programs: Science and Policy
http://shr.aaas.org//projects/bioethics/cloning.shtml
AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program
FORUM ON CLONING
June 25, 1997
In the interest of promoting the framing of scientific freedom and responsibility issues, as well as the ethical and theological questions that cloning research presents, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) convened a multi-disciplinary Forum on Cloning on June 25th, 1997. Having long been involved in educational initiatives and research programs in the field of bioethics, the AAAS served to promote a constructive dialogue among different viewpoints and contribute to the development of appropriate public policy through the 1997 forum.
Advances in cloning research, such as the documented production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism through nuclear transfer from a mature cell to an embryo, have fueled considerable public debate over the subject of cloning. Among those advances is the possibility of cloning human beings.
Opportunities for thoughtful and deliberate reflection on developments
in science, especially genetics, before they are upon us are rare.
Typically, we are in a “reactionary mode,” scrambling to match our values
and policy to the events around us. But with cloning, we have the
chance to think and plan ahead, to give direction to this technology through
rigorous analysis and dialogue. The Forum on Cloning convened
two multi-disciplinary panels of scientists, ethicists, theologians, and
policy analysts to provide direction to both cloning technology and debate
regarding the technology itself. By developing an effective conversation
between science and society, the forum desired to promote policy that is
beneficial to each involved party.
| Program | |
| 8:30 | Opening Remarks |
| Mildred S. Dresselhaus President, AAAS |
|
| 8:45 | Scientific Overview |
| Ian Wilmut Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland |
|
| 9:45 | Report and Recommendations of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission |
| Ezekiel J. Emanuel Member of the Commission and Professor of Medical Ethics, Harvard Medical School |
|
| 10:45 | Break |
| 11:45 | Panel on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Issues |
| Moderator: | |
| Mark S. Frankel AAAS |
|
| Participants: | |
| William Dommel, Jr. Director of Education, Office for Protection from Research Risks, National Institutes of Health |
|
| Carl Feldbaum President, Biotechnology Industry Organization |
|
| Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) Chairman, Subcommittee on Science, Space and Technology; Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety |
|
| Sheldon Krimsky Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, Tufts University |
|
| Wolfram Schoett Counselor for Science, Technology, and the Environment, Embassy of Germany |
|
| Maxine Singer President, The Carnegie Institute of Washington |
|
| Colin Stewart Director, Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory, national Cancer Institute - Frederick (MD) Cancer Research and Development Center |
|
| Peter Tucker Counsellor for Industry, Science, and Tourism, Embassy of Australia |
|
| Ian Wilmut Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland |
|
| 1:00 | Lunch |
| 2:30 | Panel on Ethical and Theological Issues Raised by Cloning |
| Moderator: | |
| Audrey R. Chapman AAAS |
|
| Participants: | |
| Pilar Ossorio Director, Genetics Division, Ethics Institute, American Medical Association |
|
| Ted Peters Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley |
|
| Rabbi Moshe Tendler Departments of Biology and Jewish Medical Ethics, Yeshiva University, New York |
|
| Robert Wachbroit Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park |
|
| Sondra Wheeler Department of Christian Ethics, Wesley Theological Seminary |
|
| 4:45 | Closing Remarks |
| Mildred S. Dresselhaus President, AAAS |
The Directorate for Science and Policy Programs hosts the two programs that organized the forum. The Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law Program is responsible for the Association's activities related to ethics and law, while the Program of Dialogue between Science and Religion promotes opportunities for dialogues between the scientific and religious communities on the ethical and religious implications of science and technology. The project was directed by Drs. Audrey R. Chapman and Mark S. Frankel at the AAAS.
