Even as most American researchers distance themselves from the very idea of human cloning — saying it's not only an ethical concern but probably an impossible scientific feat — the sticky wicket of stem-cell research has plenty of people both on the national front and in Hawai'i struggling with concepts that show science just may continue to outpace our collective comfort zone, and the game of catch-up may be a difficult one to win.

New developments arise every day, from the recent South Korean scientific breakthrough to the congressional passage of a bill easing restrictions on human embryonic stem-cell research.

The field seems to widen even further.

Ethical issues at play

Cumulina, the world's first mouse clone, sat atop her rubber cheese "cake" celebrating her 2nd birthday at the University of Hawai'i as her creator, Ryuzo Yanagimachi, left, and other UH researchers and staff look on. Cumulina died seven months later. Advertiser library photo • Dec. 6, 1999

For W. Steven Ward, a scientist at the University of Hawai'i's Center for Biogenesis Research, there's no easy or clear answer, but ...

"It's a very narrow window for me," said Ward, an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Reproductive biology. "When I see a sonogram of a 2-month-old fetus, it has a head and body and even ears. That is a person to me."

But he doesn't have the same sense when researchers are dealing with blastocysts (early-stage embryos of only about 150 cells) before they're implanted in the womb.

Other issues at play: Let's say you do consider a zygote (see glossary, left) to be a person, is it OK to use it for scientific purposes, to help a dying person?

Other ethical questions: Is it OK to use extra embryos from fertility clinics, destined for the biological waste bin? What about paying women for their eggs for such research? What about research that mixes different species' stem cells, creating what's being called "chimera"?

And of course, when it comes to cloning, people wonder if we'll create a "sub-human" kind of life or if we're walking the path that leads to designer babies.

What do people in Hawai'i think about these issues?

Like the rest of the nation, they're all across the map.

All those opposed ...

"We're not wise enough to be as smart as we are."

Bradley Chong, 35, of Kane'ohe, who identifies himself as a Christian, agrees with that assessment by the auxiliary bishop of the military and former command chaplain at the Marine Corps base. While waiting to pick up a prescription after his knee surgery, the media salesman said he worries about the ethical concerns of creating life to service other life.

"Life doesn't begin when we say it begins," said Chong, who attends an evangelical church and said he backs Bush's ban on research that uses human embryos. "It begins at conception."

However, he also finds the compromise that Bush struck, to use only pre-2001 embryos from fertility clinics in research morally acceptable.

"I have ethical concerns about cultivating new stem cells," he said. "But there's no harm in doing research if they're there, if it's a choice between tossing them aside (or doing research) in the interest of science. There's a greater purpose."

The Rev. Marc Alexander, who serves as diocesan theologian for the Roman Catholic Church in Hawai'i, has led presentations to physicians and nurses on the issues raised by stem-cell research.

Yes, relieving suffering is a noble goal. However, he says scientists have wandered into waters that for good reason are uncharted: It's danger, danger, Will Robinson.

"Do the right things for the right reasons in the right way and you'll never go wrong," he said. "Try to short-cut it, and we'll lose a lot of our character in the process."

Take the issue of chimeras, where two different species' cells are put together. Critics say you can create a human brain inside a primate's body.

"Sometimes I'm almost speechless," said Alexander. "I can't believe we have to make arguments for these things. You don't treat human beings in the same way we treat animals!"

What proponents say

John Gorman of Maui was in Honolulu recently for his wife's medical procedure. While he may believe that an embryo is life, he's willing to allow it to be used to help mankind in the larger sense. If you use an embryo to learn how to cure diabetes or Alzheimer's, other proponents say, isn't it a more-than-equal trade? "There's tremendous potential (in stem-cell research)," said Gorman.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll late last month during debate in Congress found most Americans disagree with Bush about government funding of stem-cell research. Forty-two percent said the federal government should ease restrictions on funding research, and another 11 percent said there should be no restrictions. The survey of 1,006 Americans found 19 percent who said there should be no funding of such research — though that's an increase from 14 percent in a poll conducted last year.

Among those who agree in Hawai'i is Makiki firefighter Derek Takita, who says he has no religious affiliation. He says research should be allowed for therapeutic cures, within reason.

"It's not like it's genetic manipulation," Takita said. "You get what you're dealt. You shouldn't be picking a baby out of a catalog."

Gorman is frustrated that science is hampered by politics.

"The U.S. is making a big mistake (to not fund stem-cell research on fresh human embryos)," said Gorman, a native of Scotland. "There are intelligent resources and great minds here. It's unfortunate these hurdles are being placed in their way."

Science, politics clash

At the University of Hawai'i's Center for Biogenesis Research, famous for creating the cloned mouse Cumulina, they're trying to tread gently into the new terrain opened by the recent development in South Korea.

Ward said the Korean news means "we can do in humans what my colleagues having been doing in mice for a long time."

He added that the center has no plans to work on human stem cells, at least for the time being.

Researchers at Seoul National University, using human embryos, recently showed it was possible to create stem cells tailored to individual patients with spinal-cord injuries or genetic ailments such as juvenile diabetes, possibly leading to the creation of patient-specific stem cells to be used to grow replacements for faulty body parts and develop therapies for diseases. Someone's own cloned organs would be better for transplants because there's less danger of rejection.

In America, that set off concerns that the world's sole superpower is lagging in medical advances because the federal government has banned funding research on human embryonic stem cells created after 2001, though several states do allow stem-cell research. For example, Massachusetts last week passed a law loosening limits on embryonic research. Previously, it was only allowed under the approval of a local district attorney. California allows state funding for embryonic stem-cell research, thanks to support from Nancy Reagan.

In Hawai'i, a resolution passed in waning days of the last session of the Legislature asking that the issue be studied, "which we're famous for doing," said Rep. Kirk Caldwell (D-Manoa). He earlier had pushed for funding so UH's medical school could do embryonic stem-cell research, but those bills failed.

Bringing society, science together

Why not sidestep the whole issue, theologian Alexander suggests: If you fund research on adult cells or umbilical-cord stem cells, you don't have to use embryos, which should be afforded all the rights and protections of an individual.

While adult-cell research has made some inroads, the reason to focus on embryonic stem cells, said Ward of the Center for Biogenesis Research, is that eggs have a special ability to "reset," like a tape. That's an important feature; it allows information to unravel in a particular sequence.

"We have no evidence yet that adult human stems can do what embryonic stem cells can do," he said. "... At this juncture, our best hope of curing people of diseases is to use embryonic stem cells."

The medical school here has been charged with creating a panel of community members, religious people, politicians and scientists to study the issue this year in the hopes of finding common ground. Ward said it's time for people of good conscience to come together and really listen to one another's concerns.

"I believe we should talk about it," he said. "Groundbreaking work was done here. It's time for us as a society to form a consensus opinion on this, because society is going to have to fund the research. We're going to have to face the issue one way or the other, to fish or cut bait on what we think about it."

But, Ward added, the center, along with Ryuzo Yanagimachi, the UH professor whose work with Cumulina brought scientific acclaim, has decided reproductive cloning is scientifically dangerous for humans.

"As Yana says, 'We can clone a mouse, but you can't ask a mouse if it has a constant headache,' " Ward said.