Human Cloning

I think that once there is a successful procedure done there will initially be a very small market for human

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?

We’ve all seen the movies. A person gets in a tube. The scientist, usually equipped with crazy hair, pushes a few button and a huge flash of light occurs. Two people walk out completely identical. And of course we know movies would never lie to us. The first cloning of a mammal, while not quite the mad scientist scene expected, was still an amazing event. It was a sheep, later named Dolly. One day, in the not so distant future, we can all use these techniques to clone our dearly passed pets or even family members. Dolly was cloned in 1996 using reproductive cloning and since then many things thought unthinkable twenty years ago have been achieved.

Ever since the birth of the first cloned sheep, named Dolly, the dream of human cloning has existed (Van Dijck, 1999). Cloning a mammal is described as the manipulation of an animal or human cell in order to create an identical copy of that animal’s or human’s nucleic DNA (Andrews, 1997). Though the dream of a human clone also comes with a lot of controversy regarding ethics and morals. Embryotic stem cell research, which could lead to a renewable source of human tissue, cells and eventually entire organs (Bowring, 2004), is highly controversial due to the necessity of placing a cloned embryo into a woman’s body

Cloning Dolly, the sheep in 1996 was a momentous moment in scientific history. Scientists removed the nucleus from one of Dolly 's skin cells and engineered an egg to be insert with then nucleus. This egg could have fertilized in a mothers ' uterus. Following this discovery, mice, pigs and cattle have been cloned based on the same concept. In 2012, a group of scientists took cloning a step further and cloned human embryos. With great certainty, human cloning will be banned by the government due to human rights. The government has already deemed it illegal to fund human cloning projects. Despite the human rights issue, cloning serves a great role in research. These cloned embryos will help understand the biological nature of human cells and the human body. Also the embryos will help advance medical treatments for a wide variety of diseases. Cloning is vital to genetic engineering. Problems do arise from such an advancement. Exploration of women would be a major issue due to the fact that these cloned embryos need to be implanted into a women 's ' uterus in order to under go gestation. Almost all scientific developments pose positive and negative outcomes.

One of the latest scientific breakthroughs has been the success of cloning. Ever since the creation of “Dolly” the sheep at Roslin Institute, there has been increased debates on whether scientists should bump up a notch and try to clone a human. Biotechnology and science evolves day by day. New inventions and discoveries play an important part in order for a breakthrough in science. Scientists are eager to study and dig deeper into the mysteries of life, to them experimenting with cloning is a major step in fully understanding the human body and its limits. But to some, the ethics of cloning has become an important issue. Questions regarding human lives as experiments and the dangerous effects of a failed experiment confronts the issue. There are still many arguable questions regarding to cloning that needs to be answered before the legalization of cloning.

Introduction- Cloning is defined as two organisms having identical genetic DNA and has been around since the early 1800s. When people think of the word ‘cloning’ many think of Dolly the sheep; however, the first organism to ever be cloned was a sea urchin in 1885. When scientists created Dolly, they took a cell from the mammary gland from an adult Finn Dorset sheep and an egg cell from a Scottish blackhead sheep. Dolly’s white face was the first sign that she was genetically modified because if she wasn 't, she would have a black face like her surrogate mother. After her procedure, the scientists named her after the country singer, Dolly Parton. (1,2,3,5)

The therapeutic and reproductive cloning has been a controversial issue over decades. The issues with therapeutic cloning can be viewed in different points such as ethical consideration, a.k.a. violating human dignity, and benefits from the cloning techniques. The discussion over the topic shows that the cloning is not either absolutely right or wrong nor good or bad. Especially, after the cloned sheep, Dolly, had been “created”, it has shown the possibility of cure for many deadly diseases, while people have been threatened with depriving inviolable human rights. The prospect of the therapeutic and reproductive cloning raises various ethical questions: Is it possible to make a successful first attempt of cloning a human without violating

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

There are a multitude of debated ethical topics, especially with the the rapid development of scientific advancements and technology. It is important to consider the philosophy of morality as scientific developments continue to evolve. The topic of human cloning is definitely one of the most fascinating, yet highly controversial topics.

The cloning of a sheep named Dolly in 1997 sparked a large-scale international debate about the future of the process of creating genetically identical individuals known as clones. New questions needed to be addressed now on a legislative level that were never an issue beforehand. Is it possible to clone human beings? Is it ethical to produce human clones? Is it helpful for science or feasible? Currently, there are two forms of cloning available for science. The first is therapeutic cloning which involves the cloning of human embryos for the purpose of studying and advancing science with the expressed goal of harvesting stem cells for research (Human Genome Project Information, 2008).

Human cloning has always been a highly controversial issue. To be able to clone a human or not be able to? That is the question. Some believe human cloning is the next step in science and should be something worthy of experimenting on; conversely, others think human cloning is unethical and shouldn’t be something scientists should be studying. Human cloning could have many problems and shouldn’t be experimented on.

No longer is cloning a cheesy cliché in some horrible sci-fi flick one watches when there’s nothing else on, it’s been proven possible for decades and even performed a number of times. Dolly the sheep was the living testament of man’s journey to touch the untouchable, to test the boundaries of nature. As technology advances we are able to explore these limits thoroughly and produce significant results. But, as we do so, we must propose the question as to whether we should. Cloning is immoral and unethical when performed with animals—as it has been—but comprises a large pool of potential from which new discoveries can be made.

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

Scientific experimentation has led us to many great discoveries such as: Chemotherapy, heart surgery, and bone marrow transplants. Recently scientists have discovered a new way to heal humans. This is known as cloning. Although they have yet to clone a human they have cloned sheep. Cloning has brought up a huge controversy among the American people. There are two sides to the story. Either you agree with cloning or you don’t. The only way to help make that decision is to look at the good and bad points of cloning.