The Pros And Cons Of Human Cloning

There have been recent studies on animals where the scientist cloned the animals. Cloning is something many people are split on. Some say it is bad some say it is good. I think cloning is a bad thing. Cloning can be a bad thing in many ways. I will be covering some of those ways in this paper.

Recently the world has turned its attention to a new development in science, cloning. Cloning is defined as “the process of producing a clone” (Dictionary.com). This has become a big deal because the endless ways we can bring back extinct creatures. Such as, the extinct wooly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and Quagga. With the endless ability to bring back animal from the past with DNA there comes a problem. With human DNA made available so easily science has come to the idea and process of making designer babies. A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present. A family gene might be a bad disease which a baby might get when born. Before this, cloning a baby was science fiction idea to people. It was never imagined or even thought possible, but now it is not. Scientist have already started to create ways to clone babies. With this comes the problem of how far should scientist go? This could be both a blessing and a curse.

Animal cloning started without the world even knowing. First, an animal clone is “an exact physical copy of one ‘parent’” (Newman 12). “Animal cloning experiments began in the 1960’s. Frogs were the first subjects. By 1987 scientists had begun cloning cows and other mammals” (Newman 12). Dolly the sheep was the first big cloning success, credited to Ian Wilmut in 1996 (Praded 21). This sheep was a scientific breakthrough, but it also caused many people to question the intents of scientists. Many people wondered if scientists would clone humans next. The original intent of animal cloning was not for the food industry. The reason animal cloning started was to find a way to help cure currently untreatable diseases (“Why Do Scientists Clone?”). By cloning cells, scientists will be able to manipulate the cells to become something new.

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

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

For starters, cloning has said to solve the continuous problem of infertility by inserting a clone embryo into the woman’s body. This guarantees infertile couples a child, as opposed to wasting time and money on other painful and emotional procedures that don’t offer this guarantee. The next benefit offers an immense amount of growth in regenerative medicine and assists those with physical disabilities by producing clones of themselves. Why clone themselves if they have a disability? Scientists can use cells from the embryo to customize the regeneration of the new organ, tissue, or body part. As far as cloning an organ goes, this benefits the millions of people who acquired a disease with no cure. For example, diseases such as Alzheimer’s,

The first example of cloning was done in 1885 by a German biologist named Hans Adolf Edward Driesch. Dreisch showed that by shaking two-celled sea urchin embryos, it was possible to separate the cells. Once separated, each cell grew into a complete sea urchin.

The controversy of human cloning has contemplated the reasons it should or shouldn't be allowed. Human cloning is the reproduction of human cells and tissue by creating a genetical copy artificially. Clones contain original characteristics of the individual or cell. There are many dangerous risks and great benefits to human cloning. Many people have an extraordinary reaction to cloning because it creates all sorts of images. Cloning is a medical breakthrough that can help millions of people if it is scientifically proven to be 100% safe. Is science really ready to officially clone a human?

Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned, her birth being announced on February 22, 1997. She was created by a group of scientists from Scotland where she lived for six and a half years before being euthanized due to progressive lung disease and severe arthritis. Dolly was

There are actually many benefits that would come with cloning, such as being able to cure defective genes s, many cosmetic surgeries, and possibly, being able to cure cancer. The way that cloning would be able to cure defective genes, would be by cloning the same genes, but altering them to be benefit the human body rather than be a negative aspect.

Human cloning has been a very controversial topic for many years now. The term human cloning includes numerous methods that are used to produce genetically identical copies of humans. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a human clone (National Human Genome Research Institute). Lost in the midst of all the fuss about cloning is the fact that cloning is nothing new: it’s rich scientific history spans more than 100 years (Genetic Science Learning Centre). The first experiments in cloning date back to 1885, when German biologist Hans Driesch split two-cell sea urchin embryos. Once separated, each cell grew into two individual sea urchins. This demonstrated that each cell in the early

The first idea of cloning began in 1938, when scientist Hans Spemann had the idea to replace the nucleus of an egg with the nucleus of another cell. Mr. Spemann did this in an attempt to grow a new embryo; however, the experiment was unsuccessful (Copernicus Science Centre). A successful attempt in the field of cloning did not occur until the 1970’s when Scientist John B. Gurdon successfully cloned a frog. However, each clone did not survive passed the stage of a tadpole. Scientist Gurdon was questioned by the public as to whether or not his practices were morally and ethically correct, especially since he was unable to successfully clone a mammal. (Copernicus Science Centre). The cloning of a mammal was not successful until 1997 when the

The ethical value of a person is to do what is safe and what will be a great benefit for the public. Human cloning is a topic that a health care provider should heavily think about. Although there are advantages to this technological process, there are more negatives that outweigh the positives. The process of human cloning involves many complications such as interfering with the distinctiveness and individuality of a person, dignity, later development, and most importantly the debate concerning the issue of destroying embryos. The ethical issues dealing with human cloning is beyond the problems of the scientists. Currently, animal cloning is still a very ineffective process. We must solve the first problem before moving on to the next.

The cloning of humans is now very close to reality, thanks to the historic scientific breakthrough of Dr. Ian Wilmut and his colleagues in the UK. This possibility is one of incredible potential benefit for all of us. Unfortunately the initial debate on this issue has been dominated by misleading, sensationalized accounts in the news media and negative emotional reactions derived from inaccurate science fiction. Much of the negativity about human cloning is based simply on the breathtaking novelty of the concept rather than on any real undesirable consequences. On balance, human cloning would have overwhelming advantages if regulated in a reasonable way. A comprehensive ban on human cloning by a misinformed public would be a sorry