The Pros And Cons Of Cloning

On 5 July, 1996, Dr. Ian Wilmut was busy in his garden when he received a phone call that would become breaking news in the scientific community. After decades of research at the Roslin Institute, the first mammal, a lamb, cloned using adult cells was born, and later named Dolly (Cohen). The new knowledge and technology from the process of making Dolly altered scientists’ views and created the foundation for further research on cloning (Shuman).

Picture this: walking down a street and seeing someone who looks exactly like you. They do the same things as you, act the same way you do, and are exactly alike in several ways. But have people ever considered the consequences of human cloning if it becomes permitted? Human cloning might seem like something out of a science-fiction novel, but it may someday be possible with advances in science and technology. This will result in the creation of several ethical and moral issues for those in the field of genetics. Cloning of a human is a great accomplishment in itself; in fact, it can be deemed as an achievement of which people could have only dreamt of in their dreams. Cloning can be considered a trite in the field of medicine as it has a lot of benefits such as; curing cancer, reversing heart attack, and curing genetic diseases, etc. Although, potential of medical accidents in cloning is grossly overstated, the cloning of human beings should not be prohibited.

I am aware of and understand the medical benefits that may result from human cloning. These benefits being a surplus of donor organs without fear of rejection, and the further study of the human genome, possibly leading to the elimination of hereditary and genetic diseases and deformities. Though I may not realize all of the possible technological advances this research could lead to, I do realize that these advances may very well increase the quality, and longevity of life. Furthermore, these advances may even be ethical processes. However, the processes that

Since 1938, cloning has been a topic some scientists have experimented with. Hans Spermenn had a "fantastic experiment" which was to replace the nucleus of an egg with the nucleus of another cell and to grow an embryo from such an egg. In 1952, Robert Briggs and Thomas King was unsuccessful in the attempt to clone a Rana pipiens frog. in 1970, this time John B Gurdon was successful in his attempt to clone a Xenous laevis frog, although it only reached the tadpole stage. Karl Illmenese and Peter Hope clone a mouse in 1981, in 1994 the first sheep was attempted to be cloned by Neal First. By 1995 two sheep were cloned by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell, they brought us the first real animal clone Dolly the sheep in 1996. After Dolly there were many animals cloned, 1998 was a mouse, 2000 a monkey and a pig, 2001 was a buffalo and a cow, a cat was cloned that year. In 2002, was mice and in 2003 there were many clones in animals, a rabbit, mule, a deer, horse and a rat. 2004 brought us fruit flies, and a group of Korean scientists were allegedly announcing they cloned human embryos although it was determined to be false information. in 2005 an Afghan hound, 2007 a wolf, 2008 a Labrador dog, 2009 was when an animal from an extinct species was cloned the Pyrenean Ibex, which lived for 7 minutes. Also in 2009, a female camel was cloned.

Clones are organisms or individuals whose DNA is identical. Cloning can happen through natural process, in identical twins, or artificially in lab. Even though scientists have been successfully cloning animals since 1996, human cloning is yet legal and prioritized in research in numerous countries (“The Life of Dolly,” n.d.). Many religions and societies view artificial human cloning as unethical and against the nature. Some fear that human clones might be enslaved and used for exploitative purposes, while others find human cloning diminishing and belittling to individuality (“Pros and Cons of Human Cloning,” 2016). Lewis Thomas (1974) strongly states, “The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behaviour control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry, and unrestrained growth of plastic flowers.” (p.67). Nevertheless, human cloning is not as insane and ridiculous as depicted by the popular culture, religions, and the society. In fact, research on human cloning should be a priority for it aids the process of human evolution, encourages advances in reproductive technology, and gives people the opportunity to have or rebuild a family.

Cloning has been a dream for sci-fi buffs and medical scientists for years. The idea of furthering human genetic to the point of producing perfect human copies is a charming idea which people often let skew their view. Firstly, the National Human Genome Research Institute (2017) describes cloning as, “a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone.” Mammals are cloned by taking a somatic cell from a desired original copy, the cell’s DNA is then mixed with that of an egg cell from a respective carrier; once the cell becomes an embryo, it is placed inside of an adult female of the same species as to fully develop (NHGRI, 2017). While the study is fascinating, and the future seems to be at the world’s fingertips, the process of cloning human beings brings to the table larger issues to the table than solutions. Quite simply, cloning entire humans is not only a difficult and dangerous path of science to pursue, it would only present complications and social strife in the modern world.

Cloning is an often discussed topic among the masses. This could range anywhere from a children’s television show, to an intense debate between two influential figures of the science world. As interesting of a prospect that cloning is however, the ethics behind such a scientific process would result in many negatives in this world. Some examples of why the cloning process should be abandoned are as follows: the cost to research and produce these clones is astronomical, and could be used for more beneficial prospects; if the purpose of creating these clones is for organs, science is close to being able to do without creating a life that will end immediately; the likelihood of a genetic mishap in one of these clones is very prevalent; and finally, the amount of discrimination against these clones would likely drive some to suicide or depression, as well as potential lynchings or other hate crimes. For these reasons, and many more, Humanity cannot allow itself to fall into the temptation of creating “artificial” people.

Cloning can be defined as the process by which individuals identical to an adult organism are obtained asexually. With the recent techniques of cloning, science has succeeded in obviating that cloning could be possible. Science has contributed to easing of humans’ problems since its proper understanding in the early 19th century. Without scientific discoveries and breakthroughs the world we see today, the technological advancements, couldn’t have been possible. One of the outcomes of the science that have increased the chances of survival of mankind of this planet is the cloning. Fertilization appeared to be science fiction-such as the creation of new sexed individuals outside the realm of sexuality, with no fusion of gametes has been demonstrated as a certifiable reality. To this day, only sheep, mice, cows, goats and pigs has been cloned. In animals, the first ever example of successful cloning appeared in the form of Dolly Sheep, that was a clone produced by Dr. Keith Campbell of Scotland in 1997 using nucleus from cultured cells of an older sheep. Due to the use of older sheep’s nucleus, Dolly survived only for six years and died in 2003.

When it comes to biotechnology science is forever searching for a new answer to life’s mysteries. Since 1998 when the first human was cloned, the topic of cloning has been a major discussion with no real answer on how to deal with the problem. The thirst for scientific discovery tends to overlook the moral implications. Human cloning has become more of an ethical issue over anything. Some of the main concerns and fears of human cloning are the loss of individualism and the sense of humanity.

Human cloning for medical research is just another argument whether or not it is good or bad. According to a 2017 National Human Genome Research Institute article, "The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity." (National Human Genome Research Institute). Medical research states that the cloning can help medical breakthroughs could save endangered species from extinction, or it could even cure baldness. However, cloning could also cause different amounts of problems. Cloning is harmful to humans because it can cause health risks, can cause emotional distress between families, and it could be used for evil.

Human cloning has been the main idea of many movies and books, from Star Wars where they had cloned armies from one man's DNA, to Jurassic Park with the cloning of new Dinosaurs. Though Jurassic Park’s science is too far fetched , because you cannot patch T-Rex DNA genomes with lizard, frog, or bird DNA -; that is simply an impossibility, but human cloning is not(Your source for all things Jurassic Park! N.D). In reality, however the first creature to ever be cloned successfully was a sheep named Dolly, who was created on July 5, 1996 in Scotland. Since her creation, there has been controversy regarding cloning from all around the world, and for different reasons, but most of the controversy came against the possibility of human cloning( Cloning Dolly the sheep. N.D). Human cloning is a novel idea but is logically not necessary for research, and it would create a large scale issue with human rights,and politics, with people wanting to use them for slavery.

In the name of science there are controversial medical advancements that many families and individuals can undergo. This can be seen in many different ways depending on the culture or society of the individual or family. A few of these controversial topics include, cloning humans, STEM cell research, and human embryo enhancement.

Cloning. A word of highly science fiction-esque and semi-alarming connotation that, when spoken, often brings to mind anything from Star Wars to sheep. The fact of the matter, however, is that most people have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to this subject and there is great controversy in regards to what humanity can do and should do with cloning. Is it ethical? What kind of morals should be reviewed before practicing it? Just how much can we do with this pseudo super power? Well, let’s see just how far humanity and its scientific/technological advances have progressed.

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing, human being or growing cloned tissue from that individual (Science Daily). It does not occur naturally. Cloning used to be a subject that would only arise in science fiction novels and movies; now it is one of the most controversial topics today and becoming a reality. Cloning has came up in popular movies such as Star Trek Nemesis and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (“Best Clone Movies”). If human cloning has been featured in movies such as these, what makes this so unacceptable? What’s the harm in having a clone of yourself walking around? Plants and animals have already been successfully cloned (“10 Advantages and”). The next step is… humans. Human cloning violates human rights and morals. “If we fail to ban all forms of human cloning, society’s continued ability to regulate or ban future scientific research will be seriously diminished in the name of autonomy and utilitarianism” (Weldon). Human cloning is unethical and should stay banned.

The well known Oxford professor and biologist, Richard Dawkins, once said, “ Cloning may be good and it may be bad. Probably it's a bit of both. The question must not be greeted with reflex hysteria but decided quietly, soberly and on its own merits. We need less emotion and more thought ”. Cloning is the process of copying or creating a biological unit exactly. Some believe that cloning is a phenomenon made up by scientist, but even in biology, cloning is proven to be in some cases, a natural process. For example, a number of plants and single-celled organism reproduce genetically identical offspring and there are also identical twins that are reproduced by mammals. However, “man-made” cloning is called artificial cloning, which can be human cloning, gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and more. The first ever artificial cloning experiment was done on sea urchins. The reason the scientist chose the sea urchin is because it is a simple organism. The scientist, Hans Dreisch, got two sea urchin embryos and shook them. He discovered that when he did that, each sea urchin separated into another sea urchin cell and grew into a whole other sea urchin. That then, paved the way for further research on cloning. Multiple experiments and studies on cloning have been done on animals and cells. Nonetheless, cloning is still very mysterious, comes with risks, and messes with the mindset of average people, therefore, cloning is immoral.