Is Cloning Okay?

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Why would anyone want to clone their pets or loved ones? Some say that if they have those who they love cloned, that they will not have to miss them once they die. If people want to clone their pets, or family members, and have the money and technology to do so, should they be allowed to do so? This is something important to discuss because as technology evolves and becomes more available, the demand for such procedures is greatly increasing. Each year the number of cloning attempts increases….and Cloning pets, humans, or any other organism, should never be allowed no matter their financial status, their ability to give permission for these procedures, or the amount of technology available.

Although the clones are genetically identical, this does not mean that they will act, or look the same as the organism from which they were cloned. “Anyone who thinks they might be able to get Spot or Fluffy back is mistaken. Cloned animals have distinct personalities, just like identical twins”, said Robert Lanza who has both successfully and unsuccessfully cloned several animals (Singer). In most cases, the clone will act different than the organism from which it was cloned because animals, including humans, are products of their environment. If a pet was abused as a baby, they will likely act timid and afraid when around people similar to their abuser for the rest of their lives, but the clone would not know to act this way because they were never abused themselves. Another example could be cats; the clone of your old pet cat may be larger than the old one, because it was fed more or does not exercise as much. Also, the cats may have different hair colors as well because their genes for hair color can randomly switch on and off. In a recen...

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...re too high for attempting these procedures to be allowed. The defects that could occur are too risky for it to be allowed. And the ethical issue of completing such procedures is yet another reason for cloning to never occur. No matter the thoughts on the subject of the person being cloned, the scientists doing the cloning procedures, or the organism being cloned, cloning anything, even stem cells, should never be allowed.

Works Cited

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/411834/the-dark-side-of-pet-cloning/

http://m.livescience.com/32083-cloning-people-biology.html

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/whyclone/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/world/europe/24bull.html?ref=cloning&_r=0

http://www.genome.gov/10004765

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/cloning/qa/questions_answers.html

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/cloningrisks/

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