Editing Brigitte Boisselier (section)

===Clonaid origins===
Raël founded Clonaid in March 1997, shortly after the [[Dolly (sheep)|Dolly the Sheep]] cloning, believing that the process was important because the human species had been created by an extraterrestrial cloning project.{{sfn|''Newsday'' 2001}}{{sfn|Palmer|2004|pp=179–80}} On a practical level, Raël promoted the practice as a way to develop more desirable genetics and eventually prolong memories in new bodies.{{sfn|''New York Times'' 2001}} Shortly after Clonaid's launch, Boisselier began publicizing and managing its operations. In 1999, she announced that she had set up cloning laboratories and had hired a team of six scientists.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|pp=180–81}} She said she had limited knowledge of cloning but was skilled in selecting experts.{{sfn|''Newsday'' 2001}}

In August 2000, Mark Hunt, a politician from [[West Virginia]], asked Boisselier to clone his late son, who had died as a child. Hunt paid Clonaid $500,000 and helped them rent a science laboratory from a school.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=182}} Boisselier said that the laboratory would initially be used to clone cattle, before moving on to humans. She planned to use a number of Raëlian surrogates, who were willing to abort abnormal pregnancies, to bear clones; the high number of women would compensate for the low odds of a healthy child for each implantation.{{sfn|''New York Times'' 2001}} In September 2000, Raël and Boisselier held a press conference with several aspiring surrogate mothers of clones. At the event, Boisselier announced the construction of a cloning laboratory and vaguely described Hunt, who wished to remain anonymous.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|pp=177–78}}{{sfn|''New York Times'' 2001}} Boisselier received significant media attention as an advocate of cloning.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=210}} Some commentators initially accepted her work as a legitimate attempt at cloning; Margaret Talbot of the ''New York Times'' described her as a more credible spokesperson than Raël, projecting what she described as "an air of cool, academic professionalism".{{sfn|''New York Times'' 2001}} Boisselier's striking physical appearance drew particular attention, and she developed an ''avant-garde'', stylish reputation, contrary to popular images of scientists.{{sfn|Palmer|2004|p=183}}