The Ethics of Cloning Essay - 1504 Words

According to Richard Dawkins â€Å"Cloning may be good and it may be bad. Probably its 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† (Dawkins, 2011). Cloning is a general term used to describe the replication of biological material (Cloning Fact Sheet, 2009). Throughout this paper the reasoning behind why cloning is an acceptable and potentially life changing science will be examined. Along with this we will take a close look at the arguments against cloning and exploring the flaws within the argument. This will affirm that cloning is useful because it cures diseases, passes on genes, and repopulates endangered species. In†¦show more content†¦Closely related to DNA cloning is therapeutic cloning which, like DNA, is the cloning of cells; but the cloning is of embryos not in the hope to create human life but rather to harvest stem cells. The harvesting of these cells is important since these cells, unlike all of the others in the human body, are able to form into any type of cell in the body ranging from bone, tissue, blood, and brain cells. Once the human body progresses to a certain stage the stem cells change into specialized cells and from that they will only be able to form those specific cells from that point forward. The main hope from therapeutic cloning is to use these stem cells to serve as replacement cells to treat such diseases as cancer, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s. However, one of the strongest arguments for therapeutic cloning is the use of these stem cells for organ donation (Cloning Fact Sheet, 2009). Because the cells do not require the use of immunosup pressant drugs, which is generally used when transplanting a foreign organ, with this and the fact that there is an extremely low risk of the body rejecting the organ cells since they are exact replica’s if the organ cells already existing inside the persons body (Cloning, 2011). According to one source, a long term solution to organ shortage is in fact an increased funding in therapeutic Cloning (Nelson, Rosenberg, Weiss, Goodrich, 2009). ReproductiveShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics Of Cloning894 Words   |  4 PagesPeriod 6 The ethics of cloning Early in 1997, Scottish scientist Dr. Ian Wilmot revealed to the world that he had successfully cloned an adult sheep, Dolly. With this invention, the world made a aggregate astonishment at the realization that cloning was no longer an aspect of a Science Fiction movie. Since then, human cloning has become one of the most expressing divergent topics in the world, discussions began regarding the ethic consequence of human cloning. In several recent opponentsRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Cloning890 Words   |  4 Pages The ethics of cloning Early in 1997, Scottish scientist Dr. Ian Wilmot revealed to the world that he had successfully cloned an adult sheep, Dolly. With this invention, the world made a aggregate astonishment at the realization that cloning was no longer an aspect of a Science Fiction movie. Since then, human cloning has become one of the most expressing divergent topics in the world, discussions began regarding the ethic consequence of human cloning. In several recent opponents argue thatRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Cloning918 Words   |  4 Pagesdebates about the ethics of in-vitro fertilization, preimplantation, stem cell research, demographic control, for example, by sterilization, genetic modification for health or physical enhancement, and human cloning. The idea of human cloning is most interesting because it is most mysterious and very complex. The topic of human cloning inclusively brings up issues also raised in the mentioned technologies. Human cloning is of two types: therapeutic and reproductive. Therapeutic cloning aims to produceRead MoreHuman Cloning Ethics1908 Words   |  8 PagesKant and Kass Tackle the Cloning Dilemma Although there are some important benefits to the use of human cloning, there are also moral challenges as well. The benefits include eradicating defective genes and infertility and a quicker recovery from traumatic injuries among other advantages. However, the disadvantages are truly thought provoking as first an individual must answer the question, â€Å"When does a human life begin?† This paper will oppose the use of human cloning on the basis that life beginsRead More The Ethics of Cloning Essay2111 Words   |  9 Pagesfreaky? Although cloning is not an important issue presently, it could potentially replace sexual reproduction as our method of producing children. Cloning is a dangerous possibility because it could lead to an over-emphasis on the importance of the genotype, no guaranteed live births, and present risks to both the cloned child and surrogate mother. It also violates the biological parent-child relationship and can cause the destruction of the normal stru cture of a family. The cloning of the deceasedRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Cloning Essay1927 Words   |  8 Pagesis created, and this act of reproductive cloning is regarded with controversy; is it morally permissible, or is it morally grotesque. There are certain elements to consider when debating the ethics of human cloning. Leon Kass in his article â€Å"The Wisdom of Repugnance† contends that reproductive cloning is morally corrupt, describing it as offensive, repulsive, and repugnant, believing these terms to be commonly associated with regards to human cloning. Kass goes forth with his arguments byRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Cloning2096 Words   |  9 Pagesreproductive cloning. The very prospect of cloning was introduced in the early 1900s, but only recently has made a notable impact on society. It truly is a thing of science fiction; a concept that most of society is familiar with through books and movies, but is not contemplated with much seriousness. But following the numerous successes in the cloning of animals and food that have piqued the interest of the scientific community, debates about the possibility and the ethics of human cloning have beenRead MoreThe Ethics of Cloning Essays2173 Words   |  9 Pagescould be produced (Cloning Fact Sheet, 1). This process is called cloning, and essentially it takes from one’s own genetic makeup to produce an exact replica. These exact replicas, known as clones, can benefit our society in many different ways; however, these benefits are not without great controversy and concerns. Prop onents of cloning suggest that through cloning, humans can experience a greater quality of life with fewer health concerns including hunger and reproduction. Cloning consist of threeRead MoreThe Ethics of Human Cloning Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesHuman cloning is separated into two major categories; reproductive cloning, which uses cloning technology to create a human embryo that will produce an entire human, and therapeutic, which adopt cloning into field of medical practices to find a cure for many diseases (Kass). Reproductive cloning requires a somatic cell, a DNA-less egg, and a surrogate mother; as a result, it creates a new individual with the same genome, or genetic coding. The idea originated in Germany in 1938, but the first successfulRead MoreThe Ethics of Cloning Essay example1453 Words   |  6 PagesThe Ethics of Cloning On February 27, 1997, it was reported that scientists produced the first clone of an adult sheep, attracting international attention and raising questions on the morality of cloning. Within days, the public had called for ethics inquires and new laws banning cloning. Issues are now raised over the potentially destructive side of this scientific frontier. Many people are morally opposed to the possible consequences of women being able to give birth to themselves, or scientists