Human Reproductive Cloning Should be Banned
The issues concerning human reproductive cloning are shrouded in controversy, perhaps overshadowing the true advantages of cloning technology. Therapeutic cloning, which is often misunderstood as reproductive cloning, is less controversial than the latter as it does not involve the creating of an individual being. Instead, vital stem cells are extracted from human embryos, in order to generate tissues and organs for transplant.
The goal of this process is strictly to harvest stem cells, resulting in the creation of “cloned organs”, which can be used to treat heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.
However, because reproductive cloning involves the creation of a specific being with
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. . concerns can be addressed when reproductive cloning has been shown to be safe in animals, which it has not yet." (Paulson) The success rate by means of reproductive cloning remains pale in comparison to natural procreation, and thus does not justify cloning as a form of procreation for the time being. The current success rate for reproductive cloning stands at one or two viable offspring per 100 experiments, and until the success rate drastically increases, cloning humans would be potentially dangerous and unethical.
The dangers that arise from reproductive cloning are numerous, and are enough to validate the banning of human reproductive cloning altogether. During mammalian reproductive cloning, a large proportion of clones suffered from weakened immune systems, which greatly compromised the animal’s ability to fight off infection, disease, and other disorders. “Animal experiments in cloning all indicate that a cloned twin is at high risk of congenital defects, multiple health problems and perhaps a greatly shortened life span.” (Paulson) In addition, many of the offspring produced through cloning suffer massive abnormalities, such as missing or deformed organs. Approximately 30% of offspring are diagnosed with “large offspring syndrome” and other debilitating conditions. In fact, studies on reproductive cloning have shown that more than 90% of
Therapeutic cloning, unlike reproductive, is a lot more productive than harmful. The stem cells created from therapeutic cloning will have the potential to turn into many different types of body cells. Stem cells can replace worn out or damaged tissues and is an alternative to organ donation. It is less likely to result in rejection by the recipient because the tissue would be made from the recipients own genetic material. Like stated previously, therapeutic cloning does not involve the creation of a live human being.
It seems to be as if cloning is the new topic society can not stop talking about. Some people do not know what it is or they confuse the difference between the different type of cloning. There are two types of cloning therapeutic and reproductive cloning and there is a big difference between the both. Reproductive cloning is cloning a whole new organism while therapeutic cloning focuses on cloning an organ such as a heart, a kidney, a liver, and so on. Cloning of a body part is extremely helpful and essential to the survival of the human race. Cloning body parts also known as therapeutic cloning is the key to live a longer happy life because this procedure creates vital organs that can help people from suffering, it prevents other diseases, and it is much safer than reproductive cloning.
that goes into creating a clone. First, scientist remove a somatic cell from an animal that they
There are many good reasons to both develop cloning and incorporate it into modern medicine. Human cloning is extremely beneficial, but there are some downsides. Many of the problems are ethical in nature. Matthew Nisbet involved the public in his article. He polled the public on their opinions about human cloning and stem cell research. He found that “The public appears to have strong reservations about research that destroys embryos”
The 21st century however forecasts an astonishing increase in innovation in another direction. While previously overshadowed by its larger cousins, physics and chemistry, it seems likely that the biological sciences will steal the limelight in the future. Mapping the genome, reversing the aging process, and finding a cure for terminal illnesses, all represent primary objectives for science. Unfortunately, the ethical questions posed by innovations in biomedicine are far greater than those posed by advances in the physical sciences. Reproductive cloning is one of these innovations, and one that arguably poses the greatest threat to the world as we know it. The universal truth, blindly accepted by man for millennia, held that a human could only be born through the sexual union of a male and a female, to be exact, of an egg and a sperm. By cloning, however, a human life can be created in the laboratory. This is done by taking human DNA and inserting it into an egg cell, sans genetic material. The resultant cell is identical to the original, and can then be inserted into a uterus, either a human or an animal one, and be grown to term, to produce a baby, while circumventing nature’s means of reproduction.
There should be no room to clone any human being nor animal. There is so much more to find out about our world then to test the non-achieved and inefficient process of cloning. Therefore I am against any type of cloning, whether therapeutic or reproductive. Andy vidak I write to you this letter, to give you a better understanding of why funding for cloning would set us back as a society. Genuinely I care about our future because I want our generation to be known as the one who did brilliant things. The excuse that cloning can potentially result in medical breakthrough is unacceptable because, like president George W. Bush said in his 2002 speech about human cloning, “We can pursue medical research with a clear sense of moral purpose.” (Office of the Press Secretary par. 12). Research cloning would contradict the most underlying principle of medical ethics, that no human life should be exploited for the convenience of another. For that reason I stand by
First, the turnout of clones if the embryo is implanted into a uterus could end up producing clones with disabilities. This has only been proven with animals that have been cloned. “The results of stem cell research and cloning have also been shown to be dangerous. The animals that have been cloned so far suffer from genetic defects” (Arnold, 2015, p. 2). But once it is done to humans many of the same genes will be passed through making it much easier for the birth defects to become more and more common. Heimbach (1998) states that, “Cloning could also increase the risk of birth defects if cloned individuals begin marrying nearly identical genetic relatives, a danger that will be hard to avoid in second and third generations.” (p.636). Not only would the clones be in danger, but also the women giving birth to these clones could be in danger as well. The future fertility of women who are allowing their eggs to be harvested are at risk as well as their health. Stark (2015) state's, “Cloning also requires harvesting large number of eggs from women. This process poses risks to women’s health and can threaten their future fertility. And the offer of payment for eggs can lead to the exploitation of low-income women” (p. 1). A life could be lost or serious health conditions could be caused, due to the birth of these clones for the women giving birth to them. Another factor that needs to be put into
Science today is developing at warp speed. We have the capability to do many things, which include the cloning of actual humans! First you may ask what a clone is? A clone is a group of cells or organisms, which are genetically identical, and have all been produced from the same original cell. There are three main types of cloning, two of which aim to produce live cloned offspring and one, which simply aims to produce stem cells and then human organs. These three are: reproductive cloning, embryo cloning and therapeutic cloning. The goal of therapeutic cloning is to produce a healthy copy of a sick person's tissue or organ for transplant, and the goal of both reproductive cloning and embryo cloning is to
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
Imagine a future where humans are manufactured, a future where humans are created by science, a future where humans are the new lab specimen. Human cloning is like opening Pandora's Box, unleashing a torrent of potential evils but at the same time bringing a small seed of hope. No matter how many potential medical and scientific benefits could be made possible by human cloning, it is unethical to clone humans.
Although IVF seems more acceptable after comparison, therapeutic cloning is still under opposition. To be specific, first
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
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.
No one knows why these attempts failed and why one succeeded.” (Kolehmainen, 2017) To see something as valuable as an embryo carelessly destroyed in the process of reproductive cloning is a travesty, in numerous ways, not only does it further prove that cloning unable to safely provided a stable live product, but more so destroys a multitude of potential lives to create one possible abominate one. In accordance to Dr. Tanja Dominko’s reports, in the New York Time article “In cloning, Failure far exceeds success”, her three years of experimenting, and going through 300 attempts with monkeys, the only result she has come up with are some of the most grotesquely abnormal embryos containing cells that have little to none chromosomes whatsoever. Some even bare resemblance to that of cancerous cells as opposed to animals with healthy cells. (Kolata, 2001) But, the most promenade one, which has been over looked the most by far, would be the indefinite hazardous consequences cloning would have on our gene pools. “The process of cloning would inevitably invite the use of other genetic technologies, specifically genetic manipulation of cloned embryos, and this could result in permanent, heritable changes to the human gene pool.” (Kolehmainen, 2017) Such practices of artificially creating a human being only spills disaster in the laboratory, in more ways than one. Materials and funds go to waste with each failure, and those clones that do indeed exist do not last