Class: Honors 192 Professor: Emily Beard By: Madison Lackey

Is human cloning ethical?

 There are three types of cloning.  DNA cloning  This is the process or isolating a specific fragment of DNA and replicating it. This technology has been around since the 1970’s.  Reproductive cloning  This is the practice of creating an animal with the same nuclear DNA as a previously existing animal. This is the type of cloning that is involved in creating human or animal clones.  Therapeutic cloning  This is the manufacturing of human embryos for the use of research. This is how stem cell research is conducted. The embryo is destroyed in the process raising ethical concerns. Understanding Cloning

 Reviving endangered or even extinct species (At least in theory)  We learn about diseases and how to cure them by using animals that have been cloned and made to specifically carry a certain disease.  In the future scientists hope to use stem cells to create organs that can be used as transplants.  For use in growing crops, although this technology is said to have reached its peak by some, and it is harmful in ways  It has let companies create a monopoly in some food industries, raising the price of its product in the process. If a disease were to break out the entire crop would be obliterated. This is because only one type of crop is planted, making it harder to fend of disease.  In the end, animal cloning and human cloning could be the biggest uses of cloning, and this train of thought caught fire with the birth of Dolly. Uses for Cloning

 On February 22, 1997 Dolly the sheep was born.  This started the modern day cloning “craze”.  This showed cloning could be done on animals and potentially humans.  Dolly lived until February 14, 2003 (6 years)  Dolly did give birth multiple times.  Her death was not related to the fact that she was a clone, so Dolly was a very successful experiment. Dolly

 Dolly showed the world cloning animals was an attainable goal. Since Dolly over 20 animals have been cloned.  Among these are carp, deer, buffalo, mice, cows, goats, pigs, monkeys, rabbits, cats, rats, mules, ferrets, dogs, and wolves.  Some endangered animals have been cloned to help sustain the population.  Among these are mouflons and gaurs.  This is one practical use of reproductive cloning, and has given hope to some that the cloning of humans is not far off. Cloning Examples

 The next scientific step appears to many to be the cloning of humans.  Not just America, but the world, is split on this decision. People are undecided as to whether cloning is ethically or morally right.  These are a couple of opinions on cloning. The Great Debate

 As of now it would be unsafe to create human clones. We do not have the technology to be sure that the babies would not have abnormalities or birth defects.  The will for clones is in part due to parents wanting to control the abilities and intellect of their offspring.  Children are traditionally seen as gifts not possessions.  For religious people it takes the creation of life out of God’s hands.  Many think it is dangerous to be able to create humans so easily. Armies could be made in fractions of the time it would normally take.  This would put less value on the life of humans, or at least on the human clones. Ethical Implications

 If human cloning is made possible in the future, we would lose our sense of self. Individuality, which is stressed so much now would become unimportant.  Once the cat is out of the bag, can it be contained? If the technology is readily available to all labs, how would it be regulated?  This is a possibly lucrative business. It would most likely be worse than any drug the world has ever seen.  Would the clones be seen as people or objects?  Cloning would hurt our diversity of genes, leading to less of a resistance to diseases.  The social side effects are unpredictable. How would clones be accepted into society? Effects on Society

Opinions on whether cloning is right or wrong differ from person to person. Having a greater knowledge of cloning and the possible effects could help people to make better decisions in the future. It will more than likely be up to our generation to decide the future of human cloning so I advise you to choose wisely.

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