Cloning: How Far Should We Go?

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Six years ago, an event in genetic history changed our perspective on "reproduction" and added to our conscience a new element in the study of biology. On February 23, 1997, the world was introduced to Dolly, a 6-month-old lamb that was cloned from a single cell taken from the tissue of an adult donor. Ever since the birth of this sheep, a question that never before existed now lingers in the mind of many: should human cloning be a part of our society?

Recently the ability to clone a human being has become a very realistic possibility. However, the issue of morality has taken center stage on this topic. A Gallup poll taken in 1997 revealed eighty-eight percent of Americans stated, "cloning human beings would be morally wrong" (Dudley 10). Some people, such as scientists in this field and certain infertile couples, are arguing against banning cloning. However, human cloning should be banned as it has the possibility to reduce the value of our life, to take away individuality in our society, and to destroy the moral and social systems humans have long cultivated.

Richard Seed, a physicist who supports human cloning, revealed in an interview he wants to open profitable clinics offering human cloning for infertile people (Opposition). If human cloning is allowed, there will be unreasonable people such as Seed, who will use cloning technology to make money. The technology could prove to be profitable because according to a report, there are 100,000 or so women in the U.S. who would like a similar chance to use cloning to have their own babies (Pence 3). To allow human cloning could create a world where we would be allowed to buy life with money. Being able to buy life reduces its value, because as humans, we do not respect th...

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...ily a child is born into is more important than the sexual process by which the child is produced" (Dudley 43). Obviously, one might assume that individuals incapable of not seeing the advanced dangers of cloning shows they are unfit for parenting a child.

There are many reasons we should not allow cloning to be made possible. It took scientists many tries before they successfully cloned animals, and the cloning that wasn't successful is something they don't want the world to see. Since human cloning is harder to accomplish than animal cloning, the success rate could be much worse and the failures inconceivable. President George Bush shared his position on human cloning stating, "We should not, as a society, grow life to destroy it" (Bush). Human cloning is not business as usual, to be fretted about for awhile. The decision needs to be made; stop human cloning.

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