This fact was made public at the International Congress on Reproductive Health, which was held in Moscow in late January and was attended by scientists from 18 countries.
Louise Brown from Britain was the first test tube baby. Next July she will celebrate her 30th birthday. Her birth shocked the world, but the process of in vitro fertilization quickly became commonplace and was used by infertile couples around the world.
Religions were against the new method, and warned the public that interference in the holy of the holiest may have serious implications for humankind. Although most of the public also rejected surrogate maternity, biotechnologies were making steady headway.
Even today, biotechnologies have more opponents than supporters. The "con" arguments are mostly of ethical nature. Biomedicine is accused of encroaching on the "act of Good." However, as distinct from 30 years ago when religion had no room for compromise, it is now becoming more tolerant - what to do with the children who were not born by divine rules? How can they be denied blessing? They are not to blame for anything and should not be social outcasts.
Commenting on the arguments about the unethical nature of biotechnologies, Professor Gennady Sukhikh, the director of the Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, emphasized that even for the most unethical issue it is possible to find moral justification and governmental need.
"Talking about cloning, people are often referring to God. I think that if the Universal Mind exists, cloning or biological matter production is too small a step in evolution to trigger off a global, galactic effect. If we are afraid of a 'horrible clone,' we should not have used the effect of nuclear fission or the vacuum theory in physics. Our best option would have been to remain in the Stone Age."
Biomedicine is silently winning over public opinion because its success stems from dealing with the problems accumulated by civilization. The latter has elevated sex to the point of absurdity. Men and particularly women are being destroyed by greater sexual freedom, promiscuity and early sex, which are exhausting human nature and hindering reproductive capabilities.
Today, every sixth married couple has problems with childbirth. Russia with its dire demographic situation has more than eight million infertile couples.
Having faced reality some 15 years ago, the government introduced a new provision for the law on health protection: "Every adult woman of child-bearing age shall have the right to artificial insemination and embryo implantation."
The harsh press has called Louise Brown and others like her "test tube babies." I saw a picture of Brown in the conference hall of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which hosted the congress. She looked absolutely normal and was affectionately hugging her baby that she had in the usual way with her husband.
Reports about recent developments in cell engineering were received with special attention at the forum. Its participants urged international cooperation in this sphere. But even the most impressive result in biotechnologies may be destroyed by a phobia of cloning - the fear that a human being will be eventually cloned.
This won't happen tomorrow - reproductive human cloning is prohibited throughout the world, but miraculous cell technologies may already be of tremendous help in health care.
When discussing this issue, Professor Sukhikh said: "We should not forget that stem cells are of interest not only for cloning. They can help medicine find better treatment for myocardial infarction and stroke and cures for multiple sclerosis, cancer, and senile dementia, to name but a few."
Scientists believe that banning scientific ideas and research is irrational. They see the development of biomedicine and reproductive technologies as an attempt to learn more about living systems. This is important if only because the growth of tumors still remains a problem; they could also help prevent ageing and find treatment for incurable diseases.
Scientists are dreaming about the production of "spare parts" for the human body so that it could be subjected to basic repairs like cars, aircraft and other technical systems. Serious results have already been achieved on this road - stem cells are being used to create different organs; a heart has already been made in the United States. The recently deceased celebrated cardio surgeon Valery Shumakov dreamt about the heart as a spare part.
The creators of the heart will now have to deal with immune compatibility - what is the best way of implanting it into the human body? It would be best to set up a genetic bank, where any person, in the prime of his life, could donate cellular material. In the future, these cells may be used in case of disease, trauma or organ failure. Probably, this is how the future will be.
For the time being, test tube babies are the most impressive achievement of biotechnology. But in vitro fertilization is not perfect. Professor Sukhikh is advocating a new promising direction - cell technologies, which will help increase the birth rate and the number of healthy children. They are making it possible to redress genetic defects in an embryo. Russian scientists are already working in this field.
Yet, the question, which interests and worries everyone the most is whether reproductive cloning of humans is possible. At the congress, this question was answered with a resolute "yes." Scientists emphasized that cloning should be carried out by responsible countries and for noble purposes, but it is necessary to better study its ethical aspects and draft relevant laws. They believe that the main task is to destroy the hypnosis of dogmas, which is mothballing research in this direction but not the ideas of scientists...
Indeed, it would be horrible to see the emergence of a new brand of humans that would not share our values, and would probably be even hostile toward us. But optimists have a different view. What if the titans of thought that have paved the way for test tube babies will produce a superior human - a physically fit great intellectual, a flawless humanist with high moral principles?
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
