Experts Blast Clone Doc's Claims, Credibility, Ethics

A fertility doctor who claims to have implanted cloned human embryos into several women is being denounced as an unscrupulous publicity hound by leading figures in his field, the Independent reports. Panayiotis Zavos has failed to make his work available for review by his peers, the experts charge, and his claims, if true, represent an immoral and dangerous breach of the ban on human cloning.

"For his claims to have credibility—and to prevent the unethical exploitation of grieving or desperate couples—Dr. Zavos must throw open his work to peer review," said the director of a charity dedicated to helping families affected with inherited disorders. "If he is as good as he claims then he has nothing to fear. If he is not, then vulnerable women and couples need protection from his activities." (More Panayiotis Zavos stories.)