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For four years, Richard Arvedon has been a passionate advocate for therapeutic cloning.
The reason is his 6-year-old daughter, Emma. She has diabetes and is likely to develop serious complications within a decade, he said.
Mr. Arvedon's hope is that scientists will take Emma's cells, start the cloning process by making embryos that are genetically identical to her, extract stem cells and grow them into healthy pancreas cells that will not be rejected by her body.
"I don't see anything else on the horizon that could help Emma in time," said Mr. Arvedon, a lawyer in Hartford.
But scientists say that crusading patient advocates like Mr. Arvedon are desperate for a cure that they cannot provide.
They are encouraged by the announcement last week that South Korean scientists had developed a line of cloned human embryonic stem cells, the universal cells that in theory can turn into any of the body's cells or tissues. In the face of powerful opposition to cloning of any kind from religious and political groups, including members of the Bush administration and Congress, these scientists...