Brigitte Boisselier
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Brigitte Boisselier (born 1956)[1] is the head of Clonaid, the "scientific wing" of the Raëlians. She has been a Raëlian since 1992[2] and primarily known for claiming that the company, run by church members, was the first organization to clone a full human being in the early 2000s. However, this claim was never backed up by any kind of evidence and was generally believed, as it is today, that it was purely a publicity stunt.
On December 27, 2002,[3] Brigitte Boisselier, a Raëlian bishop and CEO of Clonaid, stated to the press that Clonaid had successfully given birth to a cloned human being the previous day. Boisselier said that the mother delivered by Caesarean section somewhere outside the United States, and that both the mother and the little girl, Eve, were healthy. Boisselier did not present the mother or child, or DNA samples that could be used to confirm her claim at the press conference, although she did explain the procedure which she intended to use to confirm her claims. It has subsequently become apparent that the announcement was made prior to genetic testing to evaluate whether the child in question was actually a clone: Boisselier was therefore stating her belief that her procedure had resulted in a clone, not announcing results showing that the child was a clone.
On January 2, 2003, Boisselier told a French television audience that the American parents of the supposed clone are balking at providing DNA evidence to prove that their baby is really a clone. The parents are assertedly afraid that the state of Florida will try to take the baby away from them.
On January 4, 2003,[4] Boisselier announced the birth of another cloned baby to a Dutch lesbian couple and stated that there would be four other cloned babies delivered by February 2003.
She holds a master's degree in biochemistry, a Ph. D in physical chemistry from the University of Dijon in France and another Ph. D in analytical chemistry from the University of Houston in the United States under the guidance of Prof. Karl Kadish.[5]
She is currently married to Ricky Lee Roehr.[6] The name Brigitte Roehr appears as the author's name on most Raelian Contact newsletter issues since issue #279.[7]
[edit] Comments by George W. Bush
Brigitte Boisselier, head of the Clonaid company, said a cloned girl nicknamed Eve, had been born and said evidence to support the claim would be provided in nine days or so. In the wake of her announcement, both US President George W Bush and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac said they supported legislation banning human cloning.[8]
– Anonymous, Jamaica Observer
[edit] References
- ^ Rael et la secte des clones invisibles, Science extrême. Retrieved 7 October 2007. (translated)
- ^ Brigitte Boisselier: Scientific genius or PR guru?, BBC News. 9 January 2003. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
- ^ THE CLONING DEBATE, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
- ^ Dutch lesbian 'has clone baby 2', Cable News Network. January 4, 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
- ^ Clonaid chief backpedals on baby proof, Associated Press. 9 January 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^ Ranked Search Results - Birth, Marriage, & Death, Ancestry.com. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
- ^ Raelianews: Downloads, Raelianews.org. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
- ^ Muslim scholars grapple with human cloning issue, Jamaica Observer. 30 December 2002. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
[edit] External links
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2643445.stm - Profile of Boisselier by the BBC
