Clonaid Says Third Clone Has Been Born, This Time to a Japanese Couple
The Associated Press, Jan. 22, 2003
http://abcnews.go.com/
Clonaid, the company that claims to have produced the first human clone, said Wednesday that a third cloned child had been born to a Japanese couple.
The announcement came during a hearing on whether the first baby whose existence has not been verified by independent scientists should have a court-appointed guardian.
Clonaid spokeswoman Nadine Gary later said the group’s president, Brigitte Boisselier, would hold new conference Thursday in Toronto to talk about the latest births, that of the Japanese boy and a girl born to a Dutch lesbian Jan. 3.
The company has not provided any proof that the babies are clones. Clonaid was founded by the leader of the Raelians, a sect that believes aliens created life on Earth.
Clonaid has said five clones are expected to be born by Feb. 5. In late December, Clonaid said the first clone, a girl named Eve, had been born to U.S. parents on Dec. 26. Clonaid promised DNA tests to prove the baby is a clone, but later said the parents had balked.
The court hearing was scheduled after Miami attorney Bernard Siegel filed a petition seeking a guardian for Eve, saying he wanted to protect the interest of the child.
Testifying by telephone from his home in Las Vegas, company Vice President Thomas Kaenzig said Clonaid is not an incorporated company and the only other Clonaid official he knows is the president who announced Eve’s birth.
Kaenzig’s lawyers have argued he has no knowledge of the location of Eve or the mother. Circuit Judge John Frusciante got little help from Kaenzig in his attempt to locate Eve and he ordered the executive to come to court next week for further questioning.