The Immorality of Cloning
The cloning of animals and humans disregards the common ethics of the creation of humanity. Three types of cloning currently exist. There is therapeutic cloning, DNA cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning does not actually make a clone, it just makes stem cells. Stem cells are capable of becoming any type of cell that they are introduced to. For example, when a stem cell is introduced to a damaged heart, it transforms itself into a healthy heart cell. Even though stem cells might be very good for helping alleviate the pain of some diseases, the best use of stem cells is making embryos. This is the main reason why many people disagree with this kind of cloning. Courtney Farell and Rosalyn Carson-Dewitt wrote an article in which they stated “Some pro-life activists believe that such embryos represent human life, and do not approve of their use in the cloning process” (Farell and Carson-Dewitt 1). Reproductive cloning is creating an animal from only one parent. This type of cloning creates the most controversy because it completely disregards the whole idea of natural conception. The other very risky thing about this kind of cloning is that it has an extremely low success rate. Humans are so focused on the thought of making clones that they are unaware of the risk factors. Cloning makes life seem as though humans are the individuals who were meant to create. In the words of Eric Badertscher, “The cloning of human beings is particularly distasteful, and shows humans’ desire to ‘play God’ regardless to the risks of people born in this manner” (Badertscher 6). The controversy of cloning was born when the first successfully cloned animal was created in 1997. Dolly the Sheep became a focal point of...
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...with the natural evolution of life going against the will of God.
Works Cited
Farrell, Courtney Carson-Dewitt, Rosalyn. “Cloning: An Overview.” Points of View: Cloning (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Ballaro, Beverly Sprague, Nancy. “Point: The Medical and Moral Advantages of Cloning.” Points of View: Cloning (2013): 2. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Driscoll, Sally Griswold, Ann. “Counterpart: Human Cloning Treats Human Life as a Commodity.” Points of View: Cloning (2013): 3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Badertscher, Eric. “Counterpart: The Problem of Cloning.” Points of View: Cloning (2013): 4. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Pearson, John. “Point: The Benefits of Cloning Research.” Points of View: Cloning (2013): 5. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Therapeutic cloning is the process whereby parts of a human body are grown independently from a body from STEM cells collected from embryos for the purpose of using these parts to replace dysfunctional ones in living humans. Therapeutic Cloning is an important contemporary issue as the technology required to conduct Therapeutic Cloning is coming, with cloning having been successfully conducted on Dolly the sheep. This process is controversial as in the process of collecting STEM cells from an embryo, the embryo will be killed. Many groups, institutions and religions see this as completely unacceptable, as they see the embryo as a human life. Whereas other groups believe that this is acceptable as they do not believe that the embryo is a human life, as well as the fact that this process will greatly benefit a large number of people. In this essay I will compare the view of Christianity who are against Therapeutic Cloning with Utilitarianism who are in favour of Therapeutic Cloning.
Ballaro, Beverly. "Point: The Medical and Moral Advantages of Cloning. By: Ballaro, Beverly, Sprague, Nancy, Points of View: Cloning, 2013." Ebscohost.com. Mackinvia.com, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Web. 11 Dec. 2013 “History of Cloning.” Harverd medical School. N.p., n.d. Web. 10.
The idea of creating life has intrigued people since the beginning of time. Mary Shelly in her novel Frankenstein brought this idea to life. In this novel, Victor Frankenstein created life by using advanced science and spare body parts. The idea of creating life is a current controversy. Technology now allows for the cloning of sheep. Certainly, the ability to clone humans cannot be far away. It is necessary to place restrictions on cloning research and to ban humans cloning because human cloning is immoral. Furthermore, the expectations placed on a cloned creature by society would be unbearable for the creature, and would lead to its psychological demise.
In recent years our world has undergone many changes and advancements, cloning is a primary example of this new modernism. On July 5th, 1995, Dolly, the first cloned animal, was created. She was cloned from a six-year-old sheep, making her cells genetically six years old at her creation. However, scientists were amazed to see Dolly live for another six years, until she died early 2005 from a common lung disease found in sheep. This discovery sparked a curiosity for cloning all over the world, however, mankind must answer a question, should cloning be allowed? To answer this question some issues need to be explored. Is cloning morally correct, is it a reliable way to produce life, and should human experimentation be allowed?
This means that sometime in our lifetime, it is possible that cloning will be seen as normal. Expecting parents will be able to pick specifics about their child, there will be an abundance of perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables, species of animals will no longer go extinct, and this list goes on. Although this might sound nice, the competition to be “perfect,” will create a mass amount of chaos in our society. Transition: Inaccuracy of cloning, premature death and disease, and wrongfully using embryos are all big factors that come into play when cloning takes place. B. Solution (satisfaction) 1.
"Therapeutic Cloning Can Save Lives." The Ethics of Human Cloning, edited by John Woodward, Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com.catalog.stisd.net:2048/apps/doc/EJ3010028219/OVIC?u=j031916004&sid=OVIC&xid=79594319. Accessed 11 May 2018.
The fabrication of life through cloning feeds a system that allows individuals to be disposable. Carola Jolynn Whitlow in her work, An Ethical Analysis of Human Cloning Using Kant’s Notion of Personhood, states, “If cloned humans begin to be viewed as objects whose value lies not in themselves, but have an external value place on them then their intrinsic worth becomes diminished” (Whitlow p.76). Whitlow shows cloning devalues the human life because it puts a price in what the clone possess. This is shown in the novel because the clones are valued based on their organs not as who they are as individuals. Additionally the society has established a low value in regards to the life the clones lead but a high value on their organs making them commodities.
Last of all, Cloning is not ethical, many religious groups look down upon cloning and think it’s not proper because they think it’s like playing God. Many scientists were mainly thinking about cloning animals and, most likely, humans in the future to harvest their organs and then kill them. “Who would actually like to be harvested and killed for their organs?” “Human cloning exploits human beings for our own self-gratification (Dodson, 2003).” A person paying enough money could get a corrupt scientist to clone anybody they wanted, like movie stars, music stars, athletes, etc (Andrea Castro 2005),” whether it be our desire for new medical treatments or our desire to have children on our own genetic terms (Dodson, 2003).
2) Annas, George J. “Why We Should Ban Human Cloning,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 339, no. 2 (July 9, 1998), pp. 118-125.
Pr: First I will be talking about what is human cloning and what “ethical” means, then the medical benefits, and lastly the scientific research and possibilities.
"Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry." The President's Council on Bioethics Washington, D.C. N.p., July-Aug. 2002. Web.
Imagine a world in which a clone is created only for its organs to be transplanted into a sick person’s body. Human cloning has many possible benefits, but it comes with concerns. Over the past few decades, researchers have made several significant discoveries involving the cloning of human cells (ProQuest Staff). These discoveries have led to beneficial medical technologies to help treat disease (Aldridge). The idea of cloning an entire human body could possibly revolutionize the medical world (Aldridge). However, many people are concerned that these advancements would degrade self-worth and dignity (Hyde and Setaro 89). Even though human cloning brings about questions of bioethics, it has the potential to save and recreate the lives of humans and to cure various diseases without the use of medication (Aldridge, Hyde and Setaro).
Human Cloning Foundation. “The Benefits of Human Cloning.” 1998. Human Cloning Foundation. 1 October 2001 <http://www.humancloning.org/benefits.htm>.
Cloning is a very controversial subject and contains various standpoints. It is a fairly new subject and the technology of it is still in its first stages. There have been many debates over the ethics, consequences, and benefits of cloning. Several pieces of legislation have been passed to regulate and prevent cloning from advancement and potential problems.