An Italian fertility specialist has claimed success in using human cloning technology to bring about a pregnancy, the first such case in the world if successful, Japanese media reported today.
Based on an Itar-Tass news agency report out of Abu Dhabi, the reports said Severino Antinori made the announcement last night in the United Arab Emirates, noting that the pregnant woman was now in her eighth week.
Antinori did not reveal the identity of the woman nor the details of the process by which she became pregnant, but said 5,000 couples took part in the project, according to the reports.
The Italian physician last year announced his intention to become the first scientist to clone a human being, but the idea has met outrage around the world, despite the promised benefits of some avenues of research.
Antinori's move prompted the United Nations to set up a panel last year aimed at drafting an international treaty to ban the cloning of human beings.
The treaty drafting process is expected to take years, but Friday's announcement is likely to give more urgency to the debate, which began in February.
Antinori has been working with Panos Zavos, a former professor at the University of Kentucky in the United States, to clone fetuses for infertile couples.