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Human cloning should be banned debate
Human cloning should be banned debate
Lines of argument on human cloning
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Opponents of cloning believe that the procedure of cloning has not been proven safe at all, while those who support cloning believe the cloning of humans could be used to solve human diseases and infertility. However, both sides may agree that human cloning may help in our new era. Human cloning has been successful and has had failure at times as well.
The proponents of human cloning could be broken down into two arguments. The first argument being the way cloning can help by using certain technology to make sure the infertility rate goes down by helping to produce a genetic offspring. The last argument being that cloning could be an important process to help battle with genetic diseases. Although some of these arguments may fail, if they were to succeed in any way though, there would be a great deal of reasoning to move forward with the argument (Melo 253).
The opponents of human cloning could also be broken down into two arguments as well. The first argument being there could be psychological harms done to the clone. The last and final argument is there could be much harm to society. Many argue that one could lose individuality and uniqueness to a person if one were to clone them. Cloning could harm society by one might lose the establishment of a family or even have no respect for the human body (Melo 248).
The first argument that was given was solving infertility. One who supports cloning would take side by arguing that this could benefit infertile couples. One who suffers from genetic diseases, could have a child genetically related to them. Cloning becomes more as an obvious solution as the rate of infertility begins to rise. In maintaining that human cloning should be accepted because it could solve many problems of inf...
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...through the clone (Melo 254).
In finding a common ground between the two they both come down to a point of which in every argument, there is always a failure to come in the world of cloning. Taking granted these assumptions that has been offered proponent and opponent. The arguments cause many problems to people who support technology, neglect the concept in which cloning humans might be implemented. (Melo 263).
When proponents dealing with helping infertility rates going down and helping battle genetic diseases are discussed, the opposing side also argues that cloning human beings could cause psychological harm to the clone, and harms to our society as well. But in the end the arguments tend to cancel each other out, leading to many failures.
Works Cited
Melo‐Martín, De. "On cloning human beings." Bioethics 16.3 (2002): 246-265. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
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.
Children grow up watching movies such as Star Wars as well as Gattaca that contain the idea of cloning which usually depicts that society is on the brink of war or something awful is in the midsts but, with todays technology the sci-fi nature of cloning is actually possible. The science of cloning obligates the scientific community to boil the subject down into the basic category of morality pertaining towards cloning both humans as well as animals. While therapeutic cloning does have its moral disagreements towards the use of using the stem cells of humans to medically benefit those with “incomplete” sets of DNA, the benefits of therapeutic cloning outweigh the disagreements indubitably due to the fact that it extends the quality of life for humans.
“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.
successful clones often have problems with their body and are subject to a short lifespan ridden with health problems. This hurts the person or animal cloned rather than to help them, making cloning an immoral
In conclusion, it is clear to see that cloning is not the taboo it has been made out to be. It is a new boundary that humanity has never encountered before and so it is understandable that people have qualms about ‘playing God’ by shaping a life. Although some might argue that it is immoral to clone human beings, the truth is that it is unethical not to. Given that such technology has the potential to save millions upon millions of lives, not tapping into that industry would have dire consequences on the future. In this case, the ends more certainly justify the means.
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.
Automatically when people talk about human cloning that tend to be negative. Most reaction is people shouldn't play god or interfere with nature. Of course there are negative consequences that could come from cloning. On the other hand there is so many positive things that could save more lives than it would cost. Yes Cloning involves risky techniques that could result in premature babies and some deaths. That is why public policy needs to be changed on cloning. The medical possibilities are endless if federal money is given to research and develop cloning techniques.
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.
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.
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.
There are many opinions on the topic of cloning, particularly on the controversy of human cloning. Lots of people have many fears over if we should continue this form of study, whereas others think that this technology should be pushed forward with high hopes. However, no side should rule out the other, but instead, should compliment one another. Both arguments should be heard and acknowledged before any decision is made towards this new area of study. For example, many people think that their fears are unanswerable and should cause the absolute ban on cloning.
Secondly, “the most the human race has to loose by playing around with cloning is that the genetic diversity would be lost (Andrea Castro, 2005).” Reducing the genetic differences will produce clones that are grossly overlarge, many animals will be born with genetic mutations, and there will be a higher “risk of disease transfer (Saskaschools, 2003). “A review of all the world's cloned animals suggests that every one of them is genetically and physically defective (Leake, 2002).” Mutations will be passed on to the younger generation because if a cloned species has a mutation in their DNA this mutation will be passed on. Cloning has been linked with diseases of ageing, arthritis and, cancer.
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.
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.
Recently, in February 2001, CNN conducted a poll that stated, 90% of American adults think that cloning humans is a bad idea (Robinson). Even though the majority of Americans are opposed to human cloning, there are many benefits that will come from the research. Advancements in the medical field and in the fertility process will arise from human cloning. These advancements make cloning very beneficial to the human society. One of the most beneficial aspects of cloning is the ability to duplicate organs.