Cloning: How Far Should We Go?

631 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Abortion and the ethical princibles

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...

... middle of paper ...

...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.

Show More
Related

  • The Permissable Nature of Cloning Illustrated in Jennifer and Rachel by ” Lee M. Silver

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Silver’s argument illustrates to his audience that reproductive cloning deems permissible, but most people of today’s society frown upon reproductive cloning and don’t accept it. He believes that each individual has the right to whether or not they would want to participate in reproductive cloning because it is their reproductive right. However, those who participate in cloning run the risk of other’s imposing on their reproductive rights, but the risk would be worth it to have their own child.

    Read More

  • The Opposition to Human Cloning: How Morality and Ethics Factor in

    2868 Words  | 6 Pages

    If a random individual were asked twenty years ago if he/she believed that science could clone an animal, most would have given a weird look and responded, “Are you kidding me?” However, that once crazy idea has now become a reality, and with this reality, has come debate after debate about the ethics and morality of cloning. Yet technology has not stopped with just the cloning of animals, but now many scientists are contemplating and are trying to find successful ways to clone human individuals. This idea of human cloning has fueled debate not just in the United States, but also with countries all over the world. I believe that it is not morally and ethically right to clone humans. Even though technology is constantly advancing, it is not reasonable to believe that human cloning is morally and ethically correct, due to the killing of human embryos, the unsafe process of cloning, and the resulting consequences of having deformed clones.

    Read More

  • The Injustice Of Cloning In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.” (Kass) The concept of cloning continues to evoke debate, raising extensive ethical and moral controversy. As humans delve into the fields of science and technology, cloning, although once considered infeasible, could now become a reality. Although many see this advancement as the perfect solution to our modern dilemmas, from offering a potential cure for cancer, AIDS, and other irremediable diseases, its effects are easily forgotten. Cloning, especially when concerning humans, is not the direction we must pursue in enhancing our lives. It is impossible for us to predict its effects, it exhausts monetary funds, and it harshly abases humanity.

    Read More

  • Morality of Cloning

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The United States Law Banning Genetic Cloning of Humans

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Genetic cloning has become an issue in these past years, and many questions have arisen due to this scientific breakthrough. As with any new technology, ethical and moral ideals have clashed between those who support it and those who favor the opposing side. The dispute involves what to do with our ability to clone and manipulate DNA of human beings, plants, and animals, and whether it is ethical for us to pursue research and experiments with genetics or whether it is people just playing "God". Genetic cloning is a problem because it splits the country and for many of its questionable natures causing people not to trust it. Yes, it is a proven fact that people are scared of what they do not know about, and with genetic cloning, they have a very good reason to be both scared and relieved.

    Read More

  • Should Human Reproductive Cloning Be Legal

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are some rewards and disadvantages to utilizing human reproductive cloning. One advantage would be giving a woman who was not able to find the right person to have a child with, the child she had wanted. In “Mothers by Choice” there are many professional women, who before, would have to settle with ”Mr. Okay” to have a child (Munson 335). Now, marriage is not necessary to allow working women a child and they would not have to settle or put their ambitions to the wayside.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Cloning

    2127 Words  | 5 Pages

    Imagine a world where everyone looked like you and was related to you as a sibling, cousin, or any form of relation, wouldn’t that be freaky? Although cloning is not an important issue presently, it could potentially replace sexual reproduction as our method of producing children. Cloning is a dangerous possibility because it could lead to an over-emphasis on the importance of the genotype, no guaranteed live births, and present risks to both the cloned child and surrogate mother. It also violates the biological parent-child relationship and can cause the destruction of the normal structure of a family. The cloning of the deceased is another problem with cloning because it displays the inability of the parents to accept the child’s death and does not ensure a successful procedure. Along with the risks, there are benefits to Human Reproductive Cloning. It allows couples who cannot have a baby otherwise to enjoy parenthood and have a child who is directly related to them. It also limits the risk of transmitting genetic diseases to the cloned child and the risk of genetic defects in the cloned child. Although the government has banned Human Reproductive Cloning, the issue will eventually come to the surface and force us to consider the 1st commandment of God, all men are equal in the eyes of god, but does this also include clones? That is the question that we must answer in the near future in order to resolve a controversy that has plagued us for many years.

    Read More

  • The Science of Cloning

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay, Cloning Reality: Brave New World by Wesley J. Smith, a skewed view of the effects of cloning is presented. Wesley feels that cloning will end the perception of human life as sacred and ruin the great diversity that exists today. He feels that cloning may in fact, end human society as we know it, and create a horrible place where humans are simply a resource. I disagree with Wesley because I think that the positive effects of controlled human cloning can greatly improve the quality of life for humans today, and that these benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks that could occur if cloning was misused.

    Read More

  • Cons Of Cloning

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to strongly argue against cloning, there must be an understanding of its process and what exactly it is. Simply stated, a clone is a duplicate just like a photocopy. A good example of such “copies” that occur are identical twins, which are duplicates of each other. “The first step of DNA cloning is to isolate a complete gene and is to chromosomal sequences and then to gradually begin flaking the chromosomal sequences of a single DAN molecule. Then the DNA clone can be electronically labeled and used as a probe to isolate the chromosomal sequences from a collection of different types of genes, which should contain cloned sequences that would represent the whole gene. This action will produce new sets of cloned cells identical to the mother cell. The new set of cells are isolated and likewise the simplified process is repeated all over again until the cells form a complete organ. In order to produce a complete organism the DNA must be altered in a variety of way to come out with the finished product to be the complete organism.” In simple terms, a cell is taken from a donor woman. Then an unfertilized egg is taken from a second woman. The DNA from the cell is removed and transferred to the egg. The egg is then implanted into a surrogate mother. The resulting baby is genetically identical to the original donor.

    Read More

  • The Cloning Debate

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perhaps cloning is not the answer and our society should leave reproduction up to the natural ways.  But then one must ask themselves the question of 'why not'.  Is there some horrible outcome that will back fire due to the aberrant ways of creating a child?  Is bring...

    Read More

  • Cloning is Unethical

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Cloning

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...cloning can be divided into two broad category: potential safety risk and moral problems, and these concerns overweigh its achievement.

    Read More

  • Human Cloning

    1801 Words  | 4 Pages

    John A. Robertson’s article “Human Cloning and the Challenge of Regulation” raises three important reasons on why there shouldn’t be a ban on Human Cloning but that it should be regulated. Couples who are infertile might choose to clone one of the partners instead of using sperm, eggs, or embryo’s from anonymous donors. In conventional in vitro fertilization, doctors attempt to start with many ova, fertilize each with sperm and implant all of them in the woman's womb in the hope that one will result in pregnancy. (Robertson) But some women can only supply a single egg. Through the use of embryo cloning, that egg might be divisible into, say 8 zygotes for implanting. The chance of those women becoming pregnant would be much greater. (Kassirer) Secondly, it would benefit a couple at high risk of having offspring with a genetic disease choose weather to risk the birth of an affected child. (Robertson) Parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic defect to a child could make use of cloning. A fertilized ovum could be cloned, and the duplicate tested for the disease or disorder. If the clone were free of genetic defects, then the other clone would be as well. Then this could be implanted in the woman and allowed to mature to term. (Heyd) Thirdly, it would be used to obtain tissue or organs...

    Read More

  • Human Cloning Should be Illegal

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human cloning is dangerous. It is estimated that between 95 and 98 percent of cloning experiments have failed (Genetics and Society). These downfalls to cloning are in the form of miscarriages and stillbirths (Genetics and Society). Cloned human beings also run the risk of having severe genetic abnormalities. Children cloned from adult DNA would, in a sense, already have “old” genes. These children’s main problem would be developing and growing old too quickly. This includes arthritis, appearance, and organ function. Since the chance of having a child with mental and physical problems is so much higher than that of a normally conceived child, cloning should be illegal.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Human Cloning

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Benefits of Human Cloning In recent years, many new breakthroughs in the areas of science and technology have been discovered. A lot of these discoveries have been beneficial to the scientific community and to the people of the world. One of the newest breakthroughs is the ability to clone. Ever since Ian Wilmut and his co-workers completed the successful cloning of an adult sheep named Dolly, there has been an ongoing debate on whether it is right or wrong to continue the research of cloning (Burley).

    Read More

More about Cloning: How Far Should We Go?

Open Document