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Cloning moral and ethical issues
Ethical issues on cloning
The ethics of cloning
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Cloning describes a number of process that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity (NHGRI, 2015). The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone (NHGRI, 2015). Gene experimentation is the deliberate modification of an organism through the alternation of its genetic code (Catalano, 2012). Though cloning and gene experimentation are not exactly the same, they have the same basis.
Gene experimentation, and cloning of humans and animals have gone on for centuries. Dolly the sheep is one famous clone that many scientists, and people know. Cloned in 1996, in Edinburgh, UK she lived until 2003. She was put down at the age of six, on February 14th. (The Lancet, 2003). This was one of the major advances in cloning since the 1800s. Her creation threw up challenges to all manner, and fear, celebration and medical optimism (Magney, 2003). The cloning of animals is known as reproductive cloning (NHGRI, 2015). There are three different types of cloning, and they all are used for different experimentations. However, with any pro there is a con that goes along with these experiments.
The three types of cloning that scientist use are gene, reproductive, and therapeutic. Gene cloning is one of the most common types of cloning done by researchers (NHGRI, 2015). Gene cloning
When discussing the pros and cons of cloning humans, I do not remember anyone saying that it would go against the Christian way of life. Although the human that is being created is not conceived how most humans are, it does not mean that scientist are playing God. If this were the case, freezing eggs and sperm, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and using surrogates would also be a form of playing God. There have been many advances in medicine where people who are unable to have kids, can now “scientifically” have
The Christian viewpoint on therapeutic cloning is split into two – the view of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and
Understanding the facts as well as procedures between the many different types of cloning is very crucial. When everything boils down there are three types of cloning known as DNA cloning, therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. DNA cloning is the copying of a gene in order to transfer it into another organism which is usually used by farmers in most of their crops. Therapeutic cloning is the use of stem cells used to help take the place of whatever cell is missing which is potentially used to help the ill. Stem cells contain the potential to grow and help replace the genes that are missing in order to fix whatever is genetically wrong with your body or any genes that you may be missing. Reproductive cloning actually produces a living animal from only one parent. The endless possibilities and perhaps hidden motives of using genetic engineering are what divide as well as destroy the scientific community’s hope for passing laws that are towards pro cloning. Many people within soci...
Cloning, upon first hearing the word cloning, the thought of Dolly the sheep pops into the mind. The first and most used type of cloning though is not the type that creates animals, but rather DNA cloning. “Cloning is an umbrella term that science uses to indicate the duplication of biological material.”(Human Genome Project) Cloning is further broken down into three categories. The first is DNA cloning, which is the replication of DNA strands. DNA cloning is usually the process of getting a cell to replicate a desired gene for us. DNA cloning has been used since the 1970’s and has persisted as an effective cheap means of replicating DNA of interest in a foreign host cell. “To "clone a gene," a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes.”(Human Genome Project) Plasmids are not part of the chromosome but they replicate along with the cell when it replicates and divides. Since they are not a part of the chromosome they are easier to isolate and manipulate without affecting the cells function. “When the f...
Cloning is a real process that scientists use today to reproduce an exact living copy of DNA from the DNA of another living organism. When the idea of cloning first came about in the early 1800’s people believed it to be more science fiction than actual science. People didn’t understand the concept of cloning and therefore was naturally scared of the subject. It is best understood by how the Department of Animal Sciences at Cornell University explains it, “Cloning is a method of producing two or more genetically identical organisms by asexual reproduction. This means that there is only one parent cell, from which all the genetic information will come. Thus, the DNA sequence of cloned organisms is exactly the same as that of the parent cell.” Despite the general population’s disbelief there have been major scientific advances in the cloning process in the last fifty years. After many years of trial and error the first successful clone was created.
Cloning has been in nature for thousands of years, a clone is a living thing made from another consisting of the same DNA. For example identical twins are clones because they have the same DNA but the differ because the twins begin after conception when a zygote, a totipotent stem cell, divides into two, some plants self-pollinate and produce a seed, which in turn, makes plants with the same genetic code (Hyde). According to the Human Genome Project there are three types of cloning, DNA, therapeutic and reproductive; DNA cloning involves transferring DNA from a donor to another organism, therapeutic cloning, known as embryo cloning, involves harvesting stem cells from human embryos to grow new organs for transplant, and last is reproductive cloning which creates a copy of the host (Conger). One of the earliest cloned animals was a sea urchin by Hans Dreisch in the late 1800’s. Unlike Victor Frankenstein, Dreisch’s goal was to prove that genetic material is not lost in cell division, not to create another being, (History of Cloning) stated by Frankenstein “that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.” There are many ways an animal...
In recent discussions of cloning, a controversial issue has been whether cloning is ethical. On the one hand, some argue that scientists “playing god” by playing creating life However, Scientists argue that cloning is not “playing god” it’s a way to understand and improve human life. They believe god gave them the tools to improve society and increase our chances of survival
When a couple has difficulty becoming pregnant and creating another life, many will turn to this kind of procedure. Is this almost the same thing as cloning? Because the process does involve the removal and reimplantation of eggs, very similar to the process that takes place when cloning is performed. If this process is successful, which a lot of times it’s not; on many occasions multiples are created, therefore resulting in twins, triplets and sometimes even more. Is this safe? In my opinion, as long as the patients are continuously monitored by a doctor throughout their ordeal, it can be completely safe. But on the other hand, arguments have been made that when in cloning, if there is a successful clone, still many things with that clone can go wrong. Organs can grow abnormally large, that clone may not be able to reproduce, and because of the unknown effects, that clone may die at an earlier rate than that of a naturally produced human (or animal). So if the topic of cloning goes along with the interest between faith and science, is it to say that any of the scientists that are performing or attempting to perform a cloning procedure that they don’t have any faith? Because many will say that they are trying to play God, messing around with the natural process of the creation of life. Which that is the way life should be; a natural process,
His act of science would question if cloning was a practical and morally acceptable thing to do. Firstly, even attempting to clone insults God's role as a creator. Showing full determination, Aldona says, "Christian, however, feel that we have no right to play the role of God, because He is the only one Creator and act of creation depends on Him." (Zbikowska 13-16). We know God's role is to create men, women, animals and nature in his image in the way he sees perfect, not the way we see ourselves as perfect. God has the intention of making us, and when others try to mimic him it deteriorates his role in the world. Aside from the idea that cloning is insulting to God, it can also hurt others. Even though cloning has been developing for the past few decades, it is still a fairly unsuccessful procedure. In most cases, cloning is successful only less than one percent of the time. Moreover,
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.
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.
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.
Scientists have no problem with the ethical issues cloning poses, as they claim the technological benefits of cloning clearly outweigh the possible social consequences, not to mention, help people with deadly diseases to find a cure. Jennifer Chan, a junior at the New York City Lab School, said, "?cloning body organs will help save many patients' lives," she said. "I think that cloning is an amazing medical breakthrough, and the process could stop at cloning organs--if we're accountable, it doesn't have to go any further." This argument seems to be an ethical presentation of the purpose of cloning. However, most, if not all scientists agree that human cloning won?t stop there. While cloning organs may seem ethical, cloning a human is dangerous. Still, scientists argue that the intentions of cloning are ethical. On the other hand, there are many who disagree with those claims. According to those from a religious standpoint, it is playing God, therefore, should be avoided. From a scientific standpoint it is also very dangerous, as scientists are playing with human cells which, if done wrong, can lead to genetic mutations that can either become fatal to the clone, or cause it severe disabilities. This information does, in fact, question the moral of the issue. If cloning is unsafe and harmful, what is the point?
Last of all, Cloning is not ethical, many religious groups look down upon cloning and think it’s not proper because they think it’s like playing God. Many scientists were mainly thinking about cloning animals and, most likely, humans in the future to harvest their organs and then kill them. “Who would actually like to be harvested and killed for their organs?” “Human cloning exploits human beings for our own self-gratification (Dodson, 2003).” A person paying enough money could get a corrupt scientist to clone anybody they wanted, like movie stars, music stars, athletes, etc (Andrea Castro 2005),” whether it be our desire for new medical treatments or our desire to have children on our own genetic terms (Dodson, 2003).
Cloning is a process by which genetically equal organisms are created with the same DNA. In simplest terms, clones are like twins born at different times. This procedure poses various dangers to society and humankind. One of the greatest threats this procedure creates is among
The creation of Dolly revolutionized the scientific world and sparked a flaming debate of what might one day become reality. Humans now had the power to intentionally create what is essentially a copy of another organism. One day humans might also be able to create a copy of other humans as well. The question that loomed over our heads since then is whether human cloning is ethical. Furthermore, would the cloning of larger, more complex animals such as livestock and pets be ethical? Supporters of this cutting edge technology often found, and still find themselves outnumbered by those who strongly oppose cloning. The minority is by no means wrong; their arguments are just as well grounded as their opponents’, sometimes better. Likewise, the other side is also well reasoned. Cloning has many assets, despite obvious faults. It is prudent to investigate the affirmative arguments for cloning rather than just looking at faults.