The Genetic Revolution, Biotechnology and Women's Rights

This session laid out a basic foundation of both the science and the social history of biotechnology experimentation, cloning and genetic manipulation in order to identify trends, impacts on women and key issues for action.

In considering current developments, it is important to remember the history of eugenics and scientific racism, including the targeting of eugenics experimentation and sterilization at vulnerable and at risk populations, and the prevalent assumptions that poor women and women of colour should be least able to exercise their rights. This legacy continues through contemporary population control initiatives such as the promotion of quinacrine, surgical sterilization and anti-fertility vaccines, and also through the advent of genetic discrimination (e.g. insurance companies reject people based on their susceptibility to diseases as revealed through genetic testing) and genetic testing on fetuses before implementation.

• Judy Norsigian, Boston University School of Public Health, USA
• Lisa Handwerker, National Women's Health Network, USA
• Tania Simoncelli, Center for Genetics and Society, USA
• Marsha Darling, Adelphi University, USA
• Pam Rajput, Punjab University, India

A range of new technologies for reproductive cloning and genetic modification have recently emerged, some which should be supported and others that can lead to dangerous eugenics. Basic definitions to understand include:

Cloning: asexual reproduction; through scientific manipulation cells divide like embryos. Cloning includes both reproductive cloning (where a cloned embryo is implanted and brought to term to produce a fully formed living being) and embryo cloning (where a cloned embryo is used to generate stem cells for use in therapeutic tissue generation research). Human beings have not yet been cloned, but embryos are being cloned to produce stem cells. Human genetic modification: changing genes within a human cell (viruses are used to insert genes into cells). The modification can be either inheritable/passed on to future generations ("germline") or targeting the organs or tissues of a single person ("somatic").

The key points in understanding the science behind these technological interventions are: a) the technologies are very interrelated; and b) making clear distinctions between the technologies is useful in coming up with an appropriate policy regime.

Many misconceptions exist with respect to cloning, including that:

• women's diseases, abilities and personalities are genetically determined and thus solutions to problems are genetic;
• the commercialization of reproduction will not adversely impact on women;
• germ line modification and human reproductive cloning will stop the suffering, save dying children and replace dead children;
• it will cure the incurably infertile; and
• women who are anti-cloning are also anti-anti-procreative liberty, anti-science and anti-abortion.

These misconceptions suggest that we must be more proactive, think more deeply, inform ourselves and strengthen feminist voices in the biotechnology debate.

Presenters advocated that the only prudent public policy at this time is a global moratorium on all human embryo cloning, even for research purposes, in combination with effective, accountable regulation of all other human genetic technologies. We can prohibit the most dangerous genetic technologies without impeding potentially beneficial medical applications. It was noted that the United States is posing a major obstacle to the United Nations going forward with global standard setting on this issue. Finally, it was argued that scientists and corporations should not be making all of the decisions on these important issues - the women's movement and civil soci

2002 AWID Forum, Session #514