He says he will not begin his experiments unless the Society approve them. In principle, there are few technical obstacles to what Dr Seed proposes. Dr Alan Colman of the Scottish biotechnology company that is now building up flocks of cloned sheep, said that the cloned humans could easily become a reality. Before Dolly, I would have been one of the main people saying it was impossible, but it can be done. But there are a lot of reasons why it shouldn't be done.
Few people seem ready to contemplate the idea of producing identical copies of human beings.
In the United States, President Clinton has reflected this view in his proposal to ban such research for at least five years. It is a view shared by the European Union, the Vatican and by most ethics groups. Dr Richard Nicholson, editor of The Bulletin of Medical Ethics is against cloning. There can't be a great deal more scientific knowledge required before one would have the capacity to clone an adult human. But Dr Seed believes there are nevertheless many people who would be willing to have a go.