Therefore, they believe, the key to eternal life is not the soul but the recreation of individuals from their DNA. In his books, Rael claimed to have founded a company named Clonaid. This company, Rael says, was funded by Mark Hunt and based in the Bahamas. After the government closed down its labs, Brigitte Boisselier set up another company, also named Clonaid in 1997. Rael claims he does not have any knowledge of, or influence over. The current Clonaid which operates secretly but has already claimed two successful clone babies from DNA of members of the sect (Eve was the name of the first clone).
Critics condemned Clonaid’s announcement as scientific hokum, and, as yet, the company has not offered proof. According to Raelian officials, Eve’s family was afraid of losing the baby in legal wrangling over the controversy and decided not to provide a DNA sample. The movement has since announced that two more cloned babies have been born outside the United States. Whoever wants a duplicate of himself can order one for $200,000.
Undeterred by critics, Raelian founder Claude Vorilhon told CNN, “It’s a good step, but my ultimate goal is to give humanity eternal life through cloning.” To that end, Raelian members agree to let a mortician cut out a piece of bone in their forehead when they die to be frozen and stored for future cloning.
