Expansionary Institute

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

Reuters

SYDNEY, Australia (March 20) - What do you do if you're over 80, infertile, but want to be a dad?

Widower Frank Hansford-Miller, of Perth in Western Australia, has decided he's now mature enough at 84 to take on the responsibilities of parenthood. And he wants to be cloned.

''What I'm looking forward to is not just having a son, but also grandchildren,'' he told Reuters on Tuesday.

Hansford-Miller, a British immigrant, has approached the Australian government to find out more about human cloning and says he believes he has the right to benefit from the technology available today.

He laughed at suggestions he was far too old to start a family, saying he still went jogging daily, and planned to live at least another 36 years.

Hansford-Miller, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, said he had received support from other infertile men.

He feels that Australia is at a disadvantage in not keeping up with countries like Italy and the United States, which are more determined to go ahead with human cloning. Human cloning is illegal in Australia.

The moral debate surrounding human cloning does not phase him. And besides, he figures he will be doing the world a favor.

''He'll be a bright little boy, my genes are pretty good,'' the retired tutor of statistics recently told the West Australian newspaper.

Scientists say a viable human embryo could be derived from the stem cells or other cells of a man implanted in a woman's uterus.

Reuters 07:09 03-20-01

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