Prainsack B, Cherkas L F, Spector T D
Life Science Governance Research Platform, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstrasse 7, A-1010 Vienna, Austria.
Hum Reprod. 2007 Aug;22(8):2302-8. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dem113. Epub 2007 Jun 12.
Surveys have shown opposition to human reproductive cloning (HRC) in many countries. Views of identical (monozygotic, MZ) twins are of particular interest, as they naturally share 100% of their genes. We investigated attitudes of British twins towards HRC in the context of assisted reproduction technologies (ART) and gene selection.
About 4651 identical and non-identical (dizygotic, DZ) twins expressed their degree of agreement or disagreement to nine statements relating to ART, gene selection and HRC in a self-completion questionnaire.
Most subjects (70% and 78% respectively) did not regard the use of medical technologies to treat infertility as interfering with either nature or God's will, despite believing that infertility is not a disease (54%). Attitudes to gene selection and HRC were context dependent, with more favourable views towards preventing serious diseases than towards enhancing traits. About 44% supported a permanent ban of HRC. MZ twins were significantly more likely to agree that HRC should be allowed for medical purposes, such as saving a sibling's life, than were DZ twins. Increasing religiosity generally correlated with more negative attitudes.
Many attitudes are context dependent. More positive views of MZ twins towards HRC could be linked to their experience with being genetically identical.
