1 For examples of how to avoid such loopholes, see Irving, "How to Build a Better Human Cloning Bill or Treaty" (March 18, 2004), at http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_24buildcloningbill.html. For extensive analyses of scores of state, national and international cloning and stem cell research bills, including scientific references in concert with the international nomenclature, see the "Bill Analyses" section of the Irving Library, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/sub_section.php?topic=ir&subsection=bil. [Back]
2 For a 31-page compilation of hundreds of just the recent types of other cloning techniques used, favored and published about in PubMed, see Irving, ""Scientific References, Human Genetic Engineering (Including Cloning): Artificial Human Embryos, Oocytes, Sperms, Chromosomes and Genes" (May 25, 2004), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_25scientificrefer1.html. See also Irving, "Who cares about genetic engineering?" (June 22, 2004), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_27whocaresgenetic.html. [Back]
3 For an extensive analysis of the type of cloning "bans" supported by Kettle, which includes quite extensive scientific references to support these observations, see Irving, "Playing God by manipulating man: Facts and frauds of human cloning", presented twice at the Missouri Catholic Conference Annual Assembly Workshop, Jefferson City, MO (October 4, 2003), at: http://www.mocatholic.org/uploads/IrvingCloning3.pdf; and at http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_22manipulatingman1.html. [Back]
4 Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001), p. 12. [Back]
5 See, e.g., Strachan and Read (1999): "The human genome is the term used to describe the total genetic information (DNA content) in human cells. It really comprises two genomes: a complex nuclear genome ... , and a simple mitochondrial genome ... Mitochondria possess their own ribosomes and the few polypeptide-encoding genes in the mitochondrial genome produce mRMAs which are translated on the mitochondrial ribosomes. (p. 139); In animal cells, DNA is found in both the nucleus and the mitochondria. (p. 10); The mitochondria also have ribosomes and a limited capacity for protein synthesis." (p. 18) Lewin (2000): "A genome consists of the entire set of chromosomes for any particular organism, and therefore comprises a series of DNA molecules, each of which contains a series of many genes. The ultimate definition of a genome is to determine the sequence of the DNA of each chromosome. (p. 4); ... Genes not residing within the nucleus are generally described as extranuclear; they are transcribed and translated in the same organelle compartment (mitochondrion or chloroplast) in which they reside. By contrast, nuclear genes are expressed by means of cytoplasmic protein synthesis." (p. 81) [Back]
6 Among the thousands of such websites, see, e.g., The ChildrenÕs Mitochondrial Disease Network, at: http://www.emdn-mitonet.co.uk/; The Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center University of California San Diego, at: http://www.biochemgen.ucsd.edu/mmdc/; Biomedicine Database: Mitochondrial Diseases, at http://www.xagena.it/biomedicine/biom0095.htm; Mitochondrial Diseases : Information for Patients and Parents, at: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/comcare/docs/misc0001.txt;Mitochondria Research Society, at http://www.mitoresearch.org/MitoMatters/Mitomatters2003-2.pdf; Genetic Screening: Mitochondrial Diseases, at: http://www.bioethics.org.au/topic_genscreen.htm. [Back]
7 Key proponents of "total human cloning bans" have long acknowledged themselves the serious problems concerning mDNA and the consequences of these scientific facts for the lack of genetic identity of the real product of SCNT, the new living cloned human embryo, e.g.:
(1) Congressional website, Cloning Basics: 101: "What is Cloning?" ... It is false to say that cloning solves the transplant rejection problem. Each embryo clone would still contain mitochondrial DNA from the egg donor; the clone is NOT an exact genetic copy of the nucleus donor, and its antigens would therefore provoke immune rejection when transplanted. There would still be the problem of immunological rejection that cloning is said to be indispensable for solving," at http://www.house.gov/weldon/issues/clone_basics.htm.
(2) "Congressman Weldon's Cloning Facts", quoting testimony of Dr. Irving Weissman before the President's Council on Bioethics, "I should say that when you put the nucleus in from a somatic cell, the mitochondria still come from the host" [from the female egg] ... And in mouse studies it is clear that those genetic differences can lead to a mild but certainly effective transplant rejection and so immunosuppression, mild though it is, will be required for that", at http://www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/Weldoncloningfacts022603.hrml; also at: http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pdf_files/Human_Cloning.pdf.
(3) Transcript of House Hearing introducing Weldon Bill, Cliff Stearns (FL) testimony before Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 107th Congress, 1st Session on H.R. 1644 and H.R. 2172 (June 20, 2001, "Seven States' proposals ban the creation of genetically identical individuals, but that leaves another loophole. An egg cell, donated for cloning, has its own mytochondrial DNA, which is different from the mytochondrial DNA of the cell that provided the nucleus. The clone will, therefore, not truly be identical", at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/06202001Hearing291/print.htm.
(4) Senator Sam Brownback, "Some proponents of human cloning claim that an embryo created in this manner will have cells that are a genetic match to the patient being cloned, and thus would not be rejected by the patient's immune system. This claim is overstated at best; in fact there are some scientific reports that show the presence of mitochondrial DNA in the donor egg can trigger an immune-response rejection in the patient being treated, in "A True Complete Ban", National Review Online, Feb. 26, 2003, at: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-brownback022603.asp.
(5) Leon Kass, "Before one starts arguing the morality of embryo farming, we should know that the whole matter is science fiction. The egg containing my nucleus is not fully my genetic twin. It also contains residual DNA -- mitochondrial DNA -- from the woman who donated the egg. The cloned embryo and all cells derived from it remain partly 'foreign,' enough to cause transplant rejection", in The Chicago Tribune, July 31, 2001, quoted by Dave Andrusko in, "Averting a Catastrophe", at: http://www.nrlc.org/news/2001/NRL08/editA.html.
(6) President's Council on Bioethics, "The technique of cloning...bring to live birth a cloned animal that is genetically virtually identical (except for the mitochondrial DNA) to the animal that donated the adult cell nucleus", in Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry, "Executive Summary; Fair and Accurate Terminology; Scientific Background", at: http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/cloningreport/execsummary.html.
(7) George Annas, "How could such stem-cell lines be generated? One way is by transferring somatic-cell nuclei into enucleated eggs (nuclear transplantation). When stimulated to divide, the cell can form blastocysts of predefined nuclear genotype (with the mitochondrial DNA coming from the egg)", The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 346:1576-1579 May 16, 200, "Stem Cells
Scientific, Medical, and Political Issues", at: http://www.gardacuore.net/rigenerativa/ARTICOLI/NEJM_Issues.htm. [emphases added] [Back]
8 O'Rahilly and Muller, 2001: "Gametogenesis is the production of germ cells (gametes), i.e., spermatozoa and oocytes. ... The gametes are believed to arise by successive divisions from a distinct line of cells (the germ plasm), and the cells that are not directly concerned with gametogenesis are termed somatic. ... Diploid refers to the presence of two sets of homologous chromosomes: 23 pairs, making a total of 46. This is characteristic of somatic and primordial germ cells alike." (p. 19); Strachan and Read (1999): "A subset of the diploid body cells constitute the germ line. These give rise to specialized diploid cells in the ovary and testis that can divide by meiosis to produce haploid gametes (sperm and egg). ... The other cells of the body, apart from the germ line, are known as somatic cells ... most somatic cells are diploid ... ." (p. 28); Moore and Persaud, 1998: " Meiosis is a special type of cell division that involves two meiotic cell divisions; it takes place in germ cells only. Diploid germ cells give rise to haploid gametes (sperms and oocytes)." (p. 18); Carlson, 1999: "In a mitotic division, each germ cell produces two diploid progeny that are genetically equal." (p. 2); Larsen , 1998: "Like all normal somatic cells (i.e., non-germ cells), the primordial germ cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, or a total of 46." (p. 4) [Back]
9 O'Rahilly and Muller, 2001: "[Primordial germ cells] are difficult to recognize in very young human embryos. Claims for them have been made as early as in the blastocyst, and they are believed to be segregated at latest by 2 1/2 weeks and possibly much earlier. ... The unifying feature in the formation of primordial germ cells would seem to be the exemption of those cells from the processes of regional, somatic differentiation. (pp., 23-24) ... Cells differentiate by the switching off of large portions of their genome. Future somatic cells thereby lose their totipotency and are liable to senescence, whereas germ cells regain their totipotency after meiosis and fertilization. (p. 39) ... Stem cells comprise a small subpopulation of multipotent or pluripotent, ultrastructurally unspecialized, slow-cycling cells that possess the ability of self-renewal and can produce cells that are destined to differentiate. (In contrast, primordial germ cells and those of a morula are totipotent; i.e., they can develop into any type of embryonic tissue and can even form an entirely new embryo)." (p. 136) [Back]
10 Strachan and Read, 1999: "Animal clones occur naturally as a result of sexual reproduction. For example, genetically identical twins are clones who happened to have received exactly the same set of genetic instructions from two donor individuals, a mother and a father. A form of animal cloning can also occur as a result of artificial manipulation to bring about a type of asexual reproduction. The genetic manipulation in this case uses nuclear transfer technology: a nucleus is removed from a donor cell then transplanted into an oocyte whose own nucleus has previously been removed. The resulting 'renucleated' oocyte can give rise to an individual who will carry the nuclear genome of only one donor individual, unlike genetically identical twins. The individual providing the donor nucleus and the individual that develops from the 'renucleated' oocyte are usually described as "clones", but it should be noted that they share only the same nuclear DNA; they do not share the same mitochondrial DNA, unlike genetically identical twins." (pp. 508-509). (emphases added) [Back]
11 Key proponents of "total human cloning bans" have long acknowledged the serious problems concerning mDNA and the consequences of these scientific facts for the lack of genetic identity of the real product of SCNT, the new living cloned human embryo, e.g.:
(1) Congressional website, Cloning Basics: 101: "What is Cloning?" ... It is false to say that cloning solves the transplant rejection problem. Each embryo clone would still contain mitochondrial DNA from the egg donor; the clone is NOT an exact genetic copy of the nucleus donor, and its antigens would therefore provoke immune rejection when transplanted. There would still be the problem of immunological rejection that cloning is said to be indispensable for solving," at http://www.house.gov/weldon/issues/clone_basics.htm.
(2) "Congressman Weldon's Cloning Facts", quoting testimony of Dr. Irving Weissman before the President's Council on Bioethics, "I should say that when you put the nucleus in from a somatic cell, the mitochondria still come from the host" [from the female egg] ... And in mouse studies it is clear that those genetic differences can lead to a mild but certainly effective transplant rejection and so immunosuppression, mild though it is, will be required for that", at http://www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/Weldoncloningfacts022603.hrml; also at: http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pdf_files/Human_Cloning.pdf.
(3) Transcript of House Hearing introducing Weldon Bill, Cliff Stearns (FL) testimony before Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 107th Congress, 1st Session on H.R. 1644 and H.R. 2172 (June 20, 2001, "Seven States' proposals ban the creation of genetically identical individuals, but that leaves another loophole. An egg cell, donated for cloning, has its own mytochondrial DNA, which is different from the mytochondrial DNA of the cell that provided the nucleus. The clone will, therefore, not truly be identical", at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/06202001Hearing291/print.htm.
(4) Senator Sam Brownback, "Some proponents of human cloning claim that an embryo created in this manner will have cells that are a genetic match to the patient being cloned, and thus would not be rejected by the patient's immune system. This claim is overstated at best; in fact there are some scientific reports that show the presence of mitochondrial DNA in the donor egg can trigger an immune-response rejection in the patient being treated, in "A True Complete Ban", National Review Online, Feb. 26, 2003, at: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-brownback022603.asp.
(5) Leon Kass, "Before one starts arguing the morality of embryo farming, we should know that the whole matter is science fiction. The egg containing my nucleus is not fully my genetic twin. It also contains residual DNA -- mitochondrial DNA -- from the woman who donated the egg. The cloned embryo and all cells derived from it remain partly 'foreign,' enough to cause transplant rejection", in The Chicago Tribune, July 31, 2001, quoted by Dave Andrusko in, "Averting a Catastrophe", at: http://www.nrlc.org/news/2001/NRL08/editA.html.
(6) President's Council on Bioethics, "The technique of cloning...bring to live birth a cloned animal that is genetically virtually identical (except for the mitochondrial DNA) to the animal that donated the adult cell nucleus", in Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry, "Executive Summary; Fair and Accurate Terminology; Scientific Background", at: http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/cloningreport/execsummary.html.
(7) George Annas, "How could such stem-cell lines be generated? One way is by transferring somatic-cell nuclei into enucleated eggs (nuclear transplantation). When stimulated to divide, the cell can form blastocysts of predefined nuclear genotype (with the mitochondrial DNA coming from the egg)", The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 346:1576-1579 May 16, 200, "Stem Cells Scientific, Medical, and Political Issues", at: http://www.gardacuore.net/rigenerativa/ARTICOLI/NEJM_Issues.htm. [emphases added] [Back]
12 O'Rahilly 2001: "The secondary oocyte is a female gamete in which the first meiotic division is completed and the second has begun. From oogonium to secondary oocyte takes from about 12 to 50 years to be completed. Meiosis 2 is terminated after rupture of the follicle (ovulation) BUT ONLY IF A SPERMATOZOON PENETRATES ... The term "ovum" implies that polar body 2 has been given off, WHICH EVENT IS USUALLY DELAYED UNTIL THE OOCYTE HAS BEEN PENETRATED BY A SPERMATOZOON (I.E., HAS BEEN FERTILIZED). [emphasis in original]. Hence a human ovum does not exist." ( p. 25); "Diploid refers to the presence of two sets of homologous chromosomes: 23 pairs, making a total of 46. This is characteristic of somatic and primordial germ cells alike. Strachan and Read (1999): "A subset of the diploid body cells constitute the germ line. ... The other cells of the body, apart from the germ line, are known as somatic cells. ... most somatic cells are diploid ... ." (p. 28); Moore and Persaud (1998): "Meiosis is a special type of cell division that involves two meiotic cell divisions; it takes place in germ cells only." (p. 18); Carlson (1999): "In a mitotic division, each germ cell produces two diploid progeny that are genetically equal." (p. 2); Larsen (1998): "Like all normal somatic (i.e., non-germ cells), the primordial germ cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, or a total of 46." (p. 4). [Back]
13 "Glossary of Terms: Asexual reproduction: Reproduction not initiated by the union of oocyte and sperm. Reproduction in which all (or virtually all) the genetic material of an offspring comes from a single progenitor." Does this mean then that cloning by means of pronuclei transfer from two different just-fertilized oocytes is not cloning? Or, that other methods of genetically engineering embryos is not cloning?
"Cloned embryo: An embryo arising from the somatic cell nuclear transfer process as contrasted with an embryo arising from the union of an egg and sperm." Does this mean then that embryos cloned by all those other cloning techniques are not cloned embryos?
"Human cloning: The asexual reproduction of a new human organism that is, at all stages of development, genetically virtually identical to a currently existing, or previously existing, human being." Since no product of cloning is "genetically virtually identical to a currently existing, or previously existing, human being", then this report has no accurate definition of "human cloning".
"Chromosomes: Structures inside the nucleus of a cell, made up of long pieces of DNA coated with specialized cell proteins, that are duplicated at each cell division. Chromosomes thus transmit the genes of the organism from one generation to the next." What about the chromosomes outside the nucleus of a cell? These chromosomes also transmit the genes of the organism from one generation to the next. They aren't included in this report's definion.
"Embryo: The developing organism from the time of fertilization until significant differentiation has occurred, when the organism becomes known as a fetus. An organism in the early stages of development." I guess a cloned embryo - one reproduced without fertilization, is not an embryo according to this definition.
"Haploid human cell: A cell such as an egg or sperm that contains only twenty-three chromosomes." They haven't read O'Rahilly's human embryology textbook - or those of other human embryologists as well.
"Zygote: The diploid cell that results from the fertilization of an egg cell by a sperm cell." That means, then, that the zygote resulting from a-sexual reproduction is not a zygote. See, the President's Council on Bioethics, Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry, at: http://bioethicsprint.bioethics.gov/reports/cloningreport/glossary.html. [Back]
14 National Institutes of Health, Office of Science Planning and Policy, "CLONING: Present Uses and Promises", April 27, 1998), at: http://www1.od.nih.gov/osp/ospp/scipol/cloning.htm: "Cloning and somatic cell nuclear transfer are not synonymous. Cloning is the production of a precise genetic copy of DNA, a cell, or an individual plant or animal. Cloning can be successfully accomplished by using a number of different technologies. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is one specific technology that can be used for cloning." See also: Australia, The Cloning of Humans (Prevention) Bill 2001 (Queensland): "Cloning can occur naturally in the asexual reproduction of plants, the formation of identical twins and the multiplication of cells in the natural process of repair. The cloning of DNA, cells, tissues, organs and whole individuals is also achievable with artificial technologies. ... The cloning of a cell or an individual may be achieved through a number of techniques, including: molecular cloning ..., blastomere separation (sometimes called "twinning" after the naturally occurring process that creates identical twins): splitting a developing embryo soon after fertilisation of the egg by a sperm (sexual reproduction) to give rise to two or more embryos. The resulting organisms are identical twins (clones) containing DNA from both the mother and the father. ... somatic cell nuclear transfer: the transfer of the nucleus of a somatic cell into an unfertilised egg whose nucleus, and thus its genetic material, has been removed. A number of scientific review bodies have noted that the term "cloning" is applicable in various contexts, as a result of the development of a range of cloning techniques with varying applications", at: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Parlib/Publications_pdfs/books/2001036.pdf. [Back]
15 Geraedts J. P., and de Wert, G. M., "Cloning: applications in humans 1. Technical aspects", Ned Tijdschr Tandheelkd. 2001 Apr;108(4):145-50, at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11383357. [Back]
16 See endnote #2, supra. [Back]
17 Strachan and Read, 1999: "Animal clones occur naturally as a result of sexual reproduction. For example, genetically identical twins are clones who happened to have received exactly the same set of genetic instructions from two donor individuals, a mother and a father." (p. 508)
Many IVF providers are strongly promoting the use of twinning cloning techniques, a process they refer to as "embryo multiplication", e.g.: "Because early embryonic cells are totipotent, the possibility of splitting or separating the blastomeres of early preimplantation embryos to increase the number of embryos that are available for IVF treatment of infertility is being discussed. Because embryo splitting could lead to two or more embryos with the same genome, the term "cloning" has been used to describe this practice. ... Whereas these ethical concerns raise important issues, neither alone nor together do they offer sufficient reasons for not proceeding with research into embryo splitting and blastomere separation. ... In sum, since embryo splitting has the potential to improve the efficacy of IVF treatments for infertility, research to investigate the technique is ethically acceptable. Persons asked to donate gametes or embryos for such research should be fully informed that research in embryo splitting is intended or planned as a result of their donation. The fears of possible future abuses of the technique are not sufficient to stop valid research in use of embryo splitting as a treatment for infertility. This statement was developed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's Ethics Committee and accepted by the Board of Directors on December 8, 1995." See, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, at: http://www.asrm.com/Media/Ethics/embsplit.html.
See also: "New Ways to Produce Identical Twins -- A Continuing Controversy": "Now, a new method of actually producing identical twins looms near. Called "blastomere separation" (the separation of a two- to eight-cell blastomere into two identical demi-embryos), it is potentially one method of helping infertile couples have children through in vitro fertilization (IVF). ... The following is excerpted from the medical journal Assisted Reproduction Reviews, May 1994. Dr. Joe B. Massey, who heads an in vitro clinic in Atlanta. Dr. Massey reviews the advances in blastomere separation and discusses the potential indications, benefits, limitations, and ethics of using this method to produce monozygotic twin embryos for IVF patients. The Twins Foundation, by presenting Dr. Massey's material for your information neither advocates nor rejects any such procedures: 'Embryo Multiplication by Blastomere Separation -- One Doctor's Proposal'. [Massey]: In spite of many advances in human in vitro fertilization (IVF), there are still many problems. ... According to Dr. Massey, 'Observations on the potential impact of removing less than half of the cells from the human embryo have been well documented in pre-clinical embryo biopsy studies.' (For more on this story see Research Update Vol. 9, No. 1, 1994)." See, THE TWINS FOUNDATION, at: http://twinsfoundation.com/ru-v9n1-1994.htm.
See also: Professor Dr. Mithhat Erenus, "Embryo Multiplication": "In such cases, patients may benefit from embryo multiplication, as discussed in the study by Massey and co-workers. ... Since each early embryonic cell is totipotent (i.e., has the ability to develop and produce a normal adult), embryo multiplication is technically possible. ... In humans, removal of less than half of the cells from an embryo have been documented. No adverse effects were reported when an eighth to a quarter of the blastomeres were removed from an embryo on day 3 after insemination. ... Further evidence supporting the viability and growth of partial human embryos is provided by cryopreservation. After thawing four-cell embryos, some cells may not survive, leaving one-, two-, or three-cell embryos. These partial embryos survive and go to term, but at a lower rate than whole embryos. ... Based on the results observed in lower order mammals, the critical period of development to ensure success in separating human blastomeres should be at the time of embryonic gene expression, which is reported in humans to be between the four- and eight-cell stages [twinning by "blastomere splitting"]. .... The second potential method of embryo multiplication is blastocyst splitting. ... For couples who have less than three quality embryos for transfer, blastomere separation could be of benefit.." at: http://www.hekim.net/~erenus/20002001/asistedreproduction/micromanipulation/embryo_multiplication.htm.
Also, ETHICS COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, "'Ethical Considerations of Assisted Reproductive Technologies': Originally published as a supplement to the ASRM medical journal (Fertility and Sterility 1994; 62:Suppl 1), Ethical Considerations for Assisted Reproductive Technologies covers the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's position on several aspects of reproductive medicine, including: ... the moral and legal status of the preembryo, ... the use of donor sperm, donor oocytes and donor preembryos, ... the cryopreservation of oocytes and preembryos, micro techniques such as: zona drilling, microinjection, blastomere separation (cloning), and assisted hatching." at: http://www.asrm.com/Media/Ethics/ethics94.html.
See also the latest interesting method that many IVF centers are using, called "embryo self-selection": "The ability to grow embryos for five days to the blastocyst stage of development in the laboratory, rather than the traditional three days, allows clinicians to determine with greater certainty which embryos are really the "best" in terms of their potential for implantation. Consequently, blastocyst culture makes it possible to select the best one or two blastocysts vs. three or four early embryos to transfer back to the mother. Fertility centers like Shady Grove constantly strive to improve IVF success rates through the steady refinements of clinical and laboratory techniques. Clinical blastocyst culture and transfer is the next important step in that evolution,' explains Robert Stillman, MD: 'After five days of growth, the cells of the embryo should have divided many times over, and have begun to differentiate by function. The embryos that survive to this stage of development are usually strong, healthy, and robust. ... Simply put, this self selection can be viewed as 'survival of the fittest. ... Which ones to transfer? Which ones are really the "best'? Two additional days in the blastocyst culture medium allows the natural winnowing process to continue. Thus, after 5 days of growth in the laboratory, only 2 or 3 of the original ten embryos may remain viable. We now know the best embryos to transfer. ... In thinking of the example above, patients who have fewer oocytes retrieved, fewer fertilized or fewer dividing embryos by day three in culture have no advantage using blastocyst culture, since little is to be gained in further embryo 'self selection'. Dr. Stillman emphasizes."
FERTILITY NETWORK, at: http://fertilitynetwork.com/articles/articles-blastocyst.htm. [Back]
18 See Congressman Stearns' Bill H.R. 916, at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h916ih.txt.pdf. [Back]
1, 2,