Should Human Cloning be Legal?
Cloning captured the public’s attention when Scottish scientists startled the world in July of 1996 when they announced the birth of a sheep named Dolly which they had cloned from the nucleus of an adult mammary cell and a sheep egg. Ever since this spectacular event occurred people have been thinking about the possibility of cloning humans. What would a clone be like? His/her physical appearance would be the same as the person he/she was cloned from, but depending on the society it would be brought up in it’s personality would be totally different. Many people in this decade believe that human cloning should be illegal for many different reasons, but there are many people who think it should be legal. Human cloning is a very sensitive subject with its advantages and disadvantages.
“Strictly speaking embryo cloning is a technique used by researchers and animal breeders to split a single embryo into two or more embryos that will have the exact same genetic information (Wall 1117).” “The procedures used in cloning human embryos are very similar to the cloning of animal embryos, except for the zona pellucida. The zona pellucida is a protective protein and polysaccharide membrane that covers the internal contents of the embryo, and provides the necessary nutrients for the first several cell divisions that occur within the embryo. Several sperm cells and mature egg cells are gathered from donors at fertility clinics, and are combined in a petri dish using in vitro fertilization procedures to form an embryo. In an alternate process, already produced embryos are gathered from fertility clinics. The acquired embryo is placed in a petri dish and is allowed to develop into a mass of two to eight cells. Next a chemical solution is added to the zona pellucida that covers the embryo. After the zona pellucida is dissolved, the cells within the embryo are freed. These two to eight cells are collected by researchers and put in separate petri dishes (Hale 83).” “The cells are then coated with an artificial zona pellucida. The individual cells are then considered new embryos, all of which share the same exact genetic information. In effect at this point the science...
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...ugh many of the people we know in our daily lives. Cloning will be a big issue in the future kind of like the way abortion is now. Cloning is a very sensitive subject with its advantages and disadvantages.
Works Consulted
“Should cloning be banned?” Reason Online. January 2000. http://www.reason.com/biclone.html. Fackelmann, K.A. “Researchers ‘clone’ human embryos.”
Science News of the Week, Vol. 144:276.
Hale, W.G. The Harper Collins Biology Dictionary. Harper
Perennial. New York, New York, 1991:83
Nash, Madeleine. “The case for cloning.” Time Feb.9,
1998: Vol. 151. No. 5.
Wachbroit, Robert. “Genetic encores: The ethics of human
Cloning.” http://www.puaf.umd.edu/ippp/Fall97Report/cloning.htm.
Wall, James ed. “Cloning of embryos stirs ethical
Concerns.” Christian Century, November 10, 1993:1117.
Watson, Traci. “Seeking the wonder in a mote of dust.”
U.S. News & World Report, October 3, 1994:66
Wilmut, Ian. “Cloning for Medicine.” Scientific American.
December 1998. http://www.sciam.com/1998/1298issue/1298wilmut.html.
In the summer of 1996, an animal unlike any other was born unto the world. Roughly three feet high and covered in an insulating material, there were countless others that looked nearly identical freely roaming the countryside. But this animal was special; it was precisely identical to one of its brethren. Dolly the sheep was the first ever manmade clone, an exact copy of its genetic donor. In the fifteen years since the birth of Dolly cloning technology has been improving at a steady pace, and now humanity as a whole is at an impasse: human clones. Scientists are very close to being able to clone a human being, but should they? A ban on human cloning issued by the World Health Organization is in place (World Health Organization 1) but it is non-binding in nature, and individual governments must come up with their own cloning policies. For the United States, the choice is obvious: the federal government should not place a ban on human reproductive cloning. There are numerous reasons for this, such as the notion of cloning as an alternative to adoption, the elimination of disease, the possibility of continuing life after death, and the possibility of an improved quality of life for the clones themselves. At the same time, there are arguments against human cloning, mostly centering on moral issues, that must also be addressed.
In the past, cloning always seemed like a faraway scientific fantasy that could never really happen, but sometimes reality catches up to human ingenuity and people discover that a fictional science is all too real. Such was the fate of cloning when Dolly, a cloned sheep, came into existence during 1997, as Beth Baker explains (Baker 45). In addition to opening the eyes of millions of people, the breakthrough raised many questions about the morality of cloning humans. The greatest moral question is, when considering the pros against the cons, if human cloning is an ethical practice. There are two different types of cloning and both entail completely different processes and both are completely justifiable at the end of the day.
Reproductive cloning is a type of cloning which is performed for the purpose of creating a duplicate copy of another organism. It creates exact genetic copy, or clone, of an individual. It is accomplished using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT). SCNT when done on a mouse for instance, functions by taking the nucleus out of a somatic cell(any non gamete cell) of one mouse and then that nucleus is put into ...
For years, the prospect of human cloning was fodder for outrageous science-fiction stories and nothing more. However, in more recent times, human cloning has moved significantly closer to becoming a reality. Accordingly, the issue has evoked a number of strong reactions, both praising and condemning the procedure. The fact that human cloning not just affects human lives indirectly but actually involves tinkering with human creation has forced human cloning into a position of controversy. The progress of the issue of human cloning, then, has been shaped not only by the abilities and resources of scientists but by public opinion and by governmental regulation that has resulted from public pressure.
Cloning, a topic that has recently caused mayhem all over the world, is possible, but will it be here to stay? The astonishing news that scientists had cloned a sheep a couple of years ago sent people into panic at the thought that humans might be next. "Cloning is a radical challenge to the most fundamental laws of biology, so it's not unreasonable to be concerned that it might threaten human society and dignity" (Macklin 64). Since most of the opposition is coming from the pure disgust of actually being able to clone species, it makes it difficult for people to get away from the emotional side of the issue and analyze the major implications cloning would have for society. To better understand this controversial issue, the pros and cons of cloning will be discussed.
Abstract: The rate of using cloning is rapidly increasing. Cloning of different species is a beneficial process, but also has limitations as it can be hazardous and harmful to our society. Cloning is the process in which multiple identical copies of an entire entity are made. An example is the cloning of stem cells which provide identical replicas that can be used to help an injured human. This study compares the favourable and negative outcomes of cloning different organisms, from a scientific perspective without getting into the ethics and religious views. As well, this paper discusses whether or not cloning is considered suitable for society and under what circumstances that this pertains. Through scientific research and background knowledge, many facts are produced about the affects of cloning plants, animals and people. After weighing out both sides of this process in each circumstance, it can be concluded that the cloning of plants, animals, and humans can be beneficial, but it needs to be kept to a minimum to limit the chance of having a uniform society.
Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible reality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons¡¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W...
Another controversial question facing the cloning process is: How will the clones be treated? The emotions of the clones need to be taken in to consideration, after all they are humans too. "What is common to these various views, however, is a shared understanding that being a 'person' is different from being the manipulated 'object' of other peoples desires and expectations"(Biomedical Ethics). People, as clones, will be studied, prodded, and poked which in turn will cause much unwanted anxiety and emotional distress. There will also be problems with relationships between parents and the clone for understandable reasons.
Cloning is a very controversial topic since it relates to moral values of human beings. In February 1997 scientists in Scotland announced the birth of the first cloned sheep named Dolly, this heralded the future of cloning possibilities and scientists began extensive experiments on cloning and have since then cloned both plants and animals successfully. The next step was to clone actual human beings but before experiments could have been carried out pressure started build on the scientists because people started to doubt if cloning was ethical and morally correct. Governments began to introduce bans and constraints on cloning, as they felt cloning was not correct and because they represented the people of its country, it had to act on it. Cloning has its cons but its pros seem to overcome them greatly.
In the article that I chose there are two opposing viewpoints on the issue of “Should Human Cloning Ever Be Permitted?” John A. Robertson is an attorney who argues that there are many potential benefits of cloning and that a ban on privately funded cloning research is unjustified and that this type of research should only be regulated. On the flip side of this issue Attorney and medical ethicist George J. Annas argues that cloning devalues people by depriving them of their uniqueness and that a ban should be implemented upon it. Both express valid points and I will critique the articles to better understand their points.
Advances in technology and science have created the impossible outcomes onto possibilities no one has done or seen before. Thanks to modern day science and technology, the possibility of cloning humans can soon become a reality. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of a clone is a cell product that is genetically identical to the unit or individual form which it was derived. Cloning has been discovered recently in today’s science research with the popularity of the first successful cloning mammal in 1996, the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. With Dolly being a success and other mammals such as pigs and dogs have been successfully cloned throughout the years, there are now debates whether or not cloning should be done on humans. Many people are in support of the idea of cloning humans because it can be a tool to bring back a significant other back into this world, however, according to scientist there is
Just because science gives man the ability to do something does not mean it should be done. Cloning tampers with the natural way of life, and causes more problems than it has solved. Many countries, including France, Germany, and Switzerland, have already banned human cloning, and other countries are in debate over the issue. The issue may never be resolved completely, but I believe human cloning should not be allowed at all.
In 1996, Scottish scientist Ian Wilmot and his research team was able to successfully clone a lamb named Dolly from an adult sheep. This invention shocked all of the world at the realization that cloning was no longer a fantasy or an element of a Science Fiction movie. Since then, human cloning has become one of the most debated topics in the world. Everyone started to discuss about its advantages or the ethical issues of human cloning. Most of the people were against it and called it an ‘evil’ experiment. In several recent polls by Cable News Network (CNN) and TIME magazine (The Ethics of Cloning, 1998), it was shown that seventy five percent of the responding population thought that cloning was not a good thing. Furthermore, three quarters of the respondents believed that cloning was against God’s will, and when they were asked that if they are given the opportunity to clone themselves, only seven percent of the people said that they would allow it. However, when asked to define human cloning, an estimated ninety five percent of them could not describe it correctly. Although many people believe that cloning is against the will of God and it is immoral and unethical to clone human beings for both religious and humanitarian reasons, however, human cloning can have many benefits for the human race in terms of helping infertile couples and people with genetic problems. In addition, it can be really helpful for the people who suffer from diseases such as kidney and liver defects or cancer. It can also be used to develop ‘spare parts’ of the human body to be used for organ transplants.
...d might face in the future, it would allow infertile couples to have a child and has many other benefits, it shouldn’t be prohibited because of religion. Last but not least, cloning would become a kind of traffic or commerce used to create armies and slaves. Instead of spending huge amounts of money on cloning experiments, governments should care about other issues such as stopping world hunger. Panes Zavos, spokesman for a group of European scientists once said: “The world has to come to grips that the cloning technology is almost here.” It could be true. After all, gay marriage, abortion or even transgender surgery, prohibited in the past has become legal in some countries today. Will the world witness the legalization of human cloning? This would be a regretful mistake, human cloning shouldn’t be admitted or legalized anywhere, regardless any of its advantages.
“Decisions about cloning in the 21st century hinge more on ethicists, religious leaders, politicians, and the public than they do on science.” (2008)