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The Ethical Debate Concerning Cloning Essay

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The Ethical Debate Concerning Cloning In the year that has elapsed since the announcement of Dolly's birth, there has been much discussion of the ethical implications of cloning humans. Although the simple use of the word "clone" may have negative connotations, many people have resigned themselves to the idea of cloning cows that produce more milk or using a cloned mouse for use in controlled experimentation. However, the idea of cloning humans is a highly charged topic. Several authors have attempted to outline some of the ethical objections to cloning while at the same time minimizing the role religion plays in this debate. The objections posed by…show more content…
A second argument for cloning starts with the idea of reproductive rights. This liberal view holds that every individual is entitled to the right to have a child as long as the child born is unharmed. Some philosophers point out that when talking about rights it is necessary to discern from whom these rights should come. This question is difficult to answer because it either assumes natural, God-given rights or requires that the state ensure the right to reproduce or both. A third view says that cloning will provide for the possibility of improvement by giving birth to children who are free of birth defects, because when any two people create a child through sex there is the possibility for genetic defects. However, since clones are the exact replicas of someone already alive, their genetic dispositions will have already surfaced. Kass' response is these three contexts are that they are all too passive. They ignore the value of the process of bringing forth new life and look at the question in terms of results and rights. He claims that we should look at this question from the anthropologic perspective that the meaning behind the process of having a child is what's important. With many of the reproductive biotechnologies now accepted by a large portion of society, we tend to forget that there is only one
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