Editing Clonaid (section)

==Alleged clone baby Eve==
On Friday, December 27, 2002, Boisselier, a Raëlian bishop and CEO of Clonaid, announced at a press conference in [[Hollywood, Florida]] that Clonaid had successfully performed the first human reproductive cloning.  Boisselier said that the mother delivered Eve by [[Caesarean section]] somewhere outside the [[United States]] and that both were healthy. Dr. Boisselier did not present the mother or child, or [[DNA]] samples that would allow for confirmation of her claim at the press conference. It has subsequently become apparent that she announced the birth before [[genetic testing]] to evaluate whether the child in question is actually a clone: Dr. Boisselier was therefore stating her belief that her procedure had resulted in a clone, not announcing results showing that the child was a clone.<ref name="First cloned baby 'born on 26 December'">Young, Emma, [https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3217 First cloned baby "born on 26 December"], ''MacNeil/Lehrer Productions''. December 27, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2007.</ref>

Shortly after the announcement, Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Clonaid's Korean branch, BioFusion Tech. In the process, the prosecutors removed records from homes and offices while barring two representatives of BioFusion Tech from leaving the country.  An official company statement revealed that three Korean women applied to become surrogate mothers.  Officials of BioFusion Tech told the prosecutors that 10 Korean women wanted to clone themselves and have filled out applications.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

The [[Food and Drug Administration]] stated its intention to investigate Clonaid to see if it had done anything illegal.  The FDA contended that its regulations forbid human cloning without prior agency permission.  However, some members of the [[United States Congress]] believed that the jurisdiction of the FDA on human cloning matters was shaky and decided to push Congress to explicitly ban human cloning.<ref name="FDA Probes Sect's Human Cloning">[https://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/12/56994 FDA Probes Sect's Human Cloning], ''[[Wired News]]''. December 26, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2007.</ref>

===Responses by politicians and ethicists===
US President [[George W. Bush]] said that human cloning was "deeply troubling" to most Americans.  [[Kansas]] Republican [[Sam Brownback]] said that Congress should ban all human cloning, while some Democrats were worried that Clonaid's announcement would lead to the banning of [[therapeutic cloning]].  FDA biotechnology chief Dr. Phil Noguchi warned that the human cloning, even if it worked, risked transferring sexually transmitted diseases to the newly born child.<ref name="FDA Probes Sect's Human Cloning"/> The [[White House]] was also critical of the claims.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003"/>

[[Panayiotis Zavos|Panos Zavos]], a former professor of the [[University of Kentucky]], at the time had plans to create human clone embryos, but he stated to the effect that Clonaid's claims were without merit and that Eve did not exist.<ref name="Vatican slams 'brutal' clone claim">[https://web.archive.org/web/20051114214451/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/12/28/cloning.vatican/index.html Vatican slams 'brutal' clone claim], ''[[CNN]]''. December 28, 2002. Retrieved April 29, 2007.</ref> [[Severino Antinori]], who had worked with Zavos on the development of human clone embryos, was critical of Klondyke's announcement, and said of it that, "An announcement of this type has no scientific corroboration and risks creating confusion."<ref name="First cloned baby 'born on 26 December'"/> [[Robert Lanza]] of Advanced Cell Technologies said that Clonaid has no record of accomplishment for cloning anything, but he said that if Clonaid actually succeeded, there would be public unrest that may lead to the banning of therapeutic cloning, which has the capacity to cure millions of patients. The [[Holy See|Vatican]] said that the claims expressed a mentality that was brutal and lacked ethical consideration.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003"/> The [[Christian Coalition of America]] urged a human cloning ban and saw the alleged clone baby as an "aberration".<ref name="Vatican slams 'brutal' clone claim"/>

[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] bioethicist [[Alta Charo]] said that even in other ape-like mammals, the risk for miscarriage, birth defects, and life problems remains high.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003"/> [[Arthur Caplan]], the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, expressed concerns that many dead and sick children could result from the cloning of human beings.<ref name="Vatican slams 'brutal' clone claim"/>

===Request for a temporary guardian===
Clonaid spokeswoman Nadine Gary claimed that Eve went home with her mother on December 30, 2002,<ref name="Clone Maybe Baby Goes Home">[https://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/12/57019 Clone Maybe Baby Goes Home], ''[[Wired News]]''. December 31, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2007.</ref> but Florida attorney Bernard Siegel filed a petition as a private citizen<ref name="Guardian sought for alleged clone">{{cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_world_story_skin/159038 |title=Guardian sought for alleged clone |date=January 1, 2003 |work=[[1News|ONE News]] |access-date=September 24, 2011}}</ref> in the [[Broward County]] Circuit Court requesting that a temporary guardian be appointed for the purported cloned child. Two local attorneys, Barry Wax and Jonathan Schwartz were retained to represent Clonaid in the matter.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} As the court case played out over the next month, Dr. Boisselier testified under oath that there was a cloned child born outside of the U.S. living in Israel. However, Clonaid did not present demonstrative evidence that the child really existed.<ref name="Where is the Clone?">[https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/se/date/2003-01-29/segment/04 Where is the Clone?], ''[[CNN]]''. January 29, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2007.</ref>  Boisselier said that Eve would travel to the United States that day for DNA tests.  She said that a pediatrician saw Eve and her mother in good condition, but she refused to mention the location of the surrogate birth, the testing lab, or the biological mother's home, which she wanted to reveal at a later time.  The mother was said to be 31 years old with an infertile husband.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003"/>

Siegel subpoenaed Thomas Kaenzig, a vice president of Clonaid, to appear on a civil proceeding set to occur on January 22, 2003.  Siegel's office sent summonses to Thomas Kaenzig and "Jane Doe", the purported mother of Eve.  Siegel hoped that the action would coax those involved to provide some answers. He believed the child, if she existed, needed an appointed guardian and would need extensive medical treatment which he doubted Clonaid could offer. He wanted the court to make a decision on how to best protect her. However, Clonaid prevented scientists from meeting the purported child and mother.<ref name="Clonaid summoned to U.S. court">[http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/12/cloning.court/index.html Clonaid summoned to U.S. court], ''[[CNN]]''. January 12, 2003. Retrieved October 11, 2007.</ref>

===Request for a DNA verification test===
Michael Guillen, a former ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]'' science editor, made an agreement with Boisselier for him to choose independent experts to test for a [[DNA]] match. Clonaid refused to identify the independent experts, because if revealed too soon, others could track the baby from the testing place into the mother's house. Clonaid said the parents had the final say on whether they want to test the baby and that a Dutch lesbian couple would be the parents of the next cloned baby.<ref name="Wired News: Clonaid Baby: A Clone or a Fake?">[https://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/12/57001 Wired News: Clonaid Baby: A Clone or a Fake?], ''[[Wired News]]''. December 30, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2007.</ref> Boisselier said she would hand over the evidence to show that a clone had been born but was concerned that the details of Clonaid's cloning procedure might leak out.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003"/> The next day, Vorilhon claimed that the baby was healthy.  He said those who are against cloning for ethical reasons would be dismayed if the clone baby was in good condition.<ref name="CNN.com - Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home - Jan. 1, 2003">[http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/12/30/human.cloning/ CNN.com – Clonaid: Baby 'clone' returns home – 1 January 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517202735/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/12/30/human.cloning/ |date=May 17, 2008 }}, ''[[CNN]]''. January 1, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2007.</ref>

Thomas Kaenzig refused to testify in a court hearing, but Florida judge John Frusciante Sr., father of musician [[John Frusciante]],<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=John Frusciante: Broward judge's guitarist son enters rock hall of fame |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2012-04-17-fl-judge-rocker-20120416-story.html |work=South Florida Sun-Sentinel  |access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref> was able to convince Kaenzig through a telephone call to reveal some of the details.  Kaenzig testified that Clonaid left him ignorant of the cloning project and that it was not even a corporation. The judge summoned Kaenzig and Brigitte Boisselier to a Florida court and warned the two that they would be condemned if they did not show there on January 29, 2003.<ref name="Clonaid exec expected in court Wednesday">[http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/28/clonaid.hearing/ Clonaid exec expected in court Wednesday], ''[[CNN]]''. January 28, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2007.</ref> As the court case played out, Boisselier testified under oath that she saw videos of a cloned child born in Israel.<ref name="Where is the Clone?"/>

Michael Guillen was disappointed when he discovered that Clonaid withdrew their offer to provide the tests. The company said that before the tests were done, the parents wanted to be sure that their baby would not be sent away, but Florida attorney Bernard Siegel asked that a guardian for Eve be appointed and threatened the company with a lawsuit.<ref name="Where is the Clone?" /> Guillen, who remained skeptical, said it would be unwise to dismiss the Clonaid project without proper confirmation.<ref name="Reporter caught in the wreckage of Clonaid story">[https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-01-07-media-mix_x.htm Reporter caught in the wreckage of Clonaid story], ''[[USA Today]]''. January 7, 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2007.</ref>