Arguments Against Human Cloning

The topic of cloning has brought much debate in science and also in society. Many

Although this may be the case in many areas of people’s lives today, it is not always beneficial, or necessary. People may have trouble deciding whether messing with human genes and cells is ethical. Designing the “perfect child” in many parent’s eyes becomes a harsh question of reality. The concept of a parent’s unconditional love for their child is questioned because of the desire to make their child perfect. If genetically engineering humans becomes a dominant medical option, people could have the chance to create their child however they like: from physical appearances, genetically enhanced genes, and the possibility to decide what a child thinks and acts, parents have access to designing their entire child. Naturally, people could be creating a super-human. Issues between different races, and eventually creating new prejudices against genetically engineered humans may increase. People may not realize how expensive genetic screening is at first. With only the rich being able to “enhance” their children, another social issue might occur, giving the world another type of people to outcast.

The recovery period after large scale injuries could be shortened. The effects are analyzed in an article that states, “True healing could occur thanks to the cloning of their own cells to help the recovery process” (“Pros and Cons” 5). Basically, the process of cloning healthy cells could be used as an aid in replenishing damage of unhealthy cells. This process, if it were to be actualized, could help recovery progress in anything from pulled muscles to the paralysis of an entire limb. In theory, the same research can be applied in other areas. If this technology is paired with stem cell research, it could result in a method of repairing physical damage. An article that focused on advances in biotechnology stated that “Another use of cloned stem cells could be the growth of replacement tissues in the laboratory” (LaPensee 15). Necrosis, apoptosis, and lymphocyte diapedesis all cause tissue damage or death. These tissues could be replaced by cloned cells of healthy tissues. This shortens recovery periods and leads to healthier tissue growth.

There are many arguments against cloning. Leon R. Kass bases his argument on repugnance in his article The Wisdom of Repugnance. He is a well-known physician, educator and scientist. Kass perceives cloning as offensive, grotesque revolting, repulsive and wrong. To establish his argument he states, “Most people recoil from the prospect of mass production or human being, with large clones of look-alikes, compromised in their individuality.”1 His rationale is cloning is unnatural, because it is asexual and requires only one parent. Kass believes that cloning turns natural procreation into a manufactured process, which is not natural or moral. In his essay he also points out that cloning will also change the way we see ourselves through our

Cloning is “the creation of exact copies of a gene, cell, or entire organism” (“Cloning”). Many objects can be cloned such as plants and cells. The topic of cloning becomes controversial when the focus is toward humans. It is evident that cloning of other species and organisms is possible. Because of this, the thought of human cloning has arisen in the science community within the previous few centuries. According to a poll produced by Time Magazine, ninety-three percent of American’s are opposed to human cloning (“Human Cloning”). This proves that the advancement of this topic has developed far beyond our wisdom. If nearly one hundred percent of the population disagrees with even the idea of this experiment, it is evident that they are unaware of the ways in which this technology has advanced. Furthermore, this unpredictable outcome of cloning will be irreversible. “Whatever effects cloning might have, cloning would be like opening Pandora’s Box, because there would be no way to turn back once the technology was developed and in use” (“Human Cloning”). As has been noted, the science of human cloning is not yet understood therefore it has advanced far too quickly for society to

“One of the issues in the debate on human enhancement has been its potential impact on personal identity. Personal identity is here understood as the collection of attributes that make someone a unique person, especially as understood by themselves. Human enhancement...involves the modification of human minds and bodies and equips humans with supernormal abilities. These new abilities may change the way that persons look and behave, and may change the way they experience the world and themselves.”

Most parents would do almost anything for their children to be the best and know that in life they will be successful and ahead of the game, but what if even before they are even born you could alter their genes to give them an even greater advantage. This would allow one to “create” a child who is smarter, taller, and prettier, even if the parents never carried any of these traits. As the human race continues to develop and modern technology continues to advance, we have been able to create new inventions that could potentially help us overcome daily issues linked with diseases and mutations, but although to some this seems like an incredible idea, the motion of one day being able to modify your unborn baby to look and be who you want is not only morally wrong, but could result in drastic environmental changes. Genetically engineering has influenced many debates as to whether the ethics behind the motion are right, and like most scientific discoveries comes with many advantages and disadvantages.

Genetic cloning is one of the most controversial topics of all time. People, specifically scientists, are constantly searching for ways to improve the quality of human life. As a result, they began genetically engineering animals and are currently in search of a method to genetically engineer humans as well; which is called human cloning. There are many reasons why people should not go forward with this step since genetic cloning, consequently human cloning, does not respect nature nor does it ensure diversity and survival in natural ecosystems. In addition, genetic cloning is a cruel, harsh, and an unsafe experiment.

Cloning is done when a cell is replicated by using asexual reproduction and turns out to be the exact same as the host. Most people believe that cloning is very harmful and weird, while some believe that cloning is good for the environment and, it helps the world become very successful. I believe that cloning is horrible because it causes large offspring syndrome, has a very high failure percentage, has unknown consequences, the economy is affected poorly, causes an abnormal population increase, makes a non-diverse population, clones are socially unaccepted, it destroys the value of life and family, it causes diseases to spread, it causes premature aging, provides security issues for people, and increases the abuse of cloning.

Human cloning involves removing the nucleus of a human egg and replacing it with the nucleus of an existing person (Glannon, p. 89). It is the genetic duplication of an existing person (CGS). Identical twins are a naturally occurring cloning (Science Daily). Several countries worldwide have bans on human cloning (Kilner). The U.S. government has cut funding for cloning research (Kilner). Arguments in favor of human cloning point out the benefits of advancing technology, while those against question the effect it has on human dignity and even the clone itself.

While we have the state of the art technologies and the result of a successful cloning of the infamous lamb known as Dolly, should we take the next step and begin human cloning? If I were to carry the super DNA that scientists are wanting to explore in the lab, would I allow myself to be duplicated? Absolutely not! Replicating a human is not only wrong on ethical grounds but also a threat to our existence! The biggest concern is how far will humans attempt to control nature? Therefore, I do not believe that cloning should be allowed based on my teleological outlook.

If we want the best for our children why shouldn 't we design our own babies? Using genetic techniques we can help prevent certain genetic diseases. This both saves the children from suffering and reduces the cost and emotional strain of looking after an ill child. There have been a few cases where parents have

The first problem that human cloning encounter is it is one of unethical processes because it involves the alteration of the human genetic and human may be harmed, either during experimentation or by expectations after birth. “Cloning, like all science, must be used responsibly. Cloning human is not desirable. But cloning sheep has its uses.”, as quoted by Mary Seller, a member of the Church of England’s Board of Social Responsibility (Amy Logston, 1999). Meaning behind this word are showing us that cloning have both advantages and disadvantages. The concept of cloning is hurting many human sentiments and human believes. “Given the high rates of morbidity and mortality in the cloning of other mammals, we believe that cloning-to-produce-children would be extremely unsafe, and that attempts to produce a cloned child would be highly unethical”, as quoted by the President’s Council on Bioethics. Since human cloning deals with human life, it said to be unethical if people are willing to killed embryo or infant to produce a cloned human and advancing on it. The probability of this process is successful is also small because the technology that being used in this process is still new and risky.

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

Many ethical and moral dilemmas arise when discussing human cloning, and one can have many positions for and against each. To understand the issues surrounding human cloning, one must have a basic