Cloning Ethics
The rapid development of the technology for cloning has led to moral
debates
around the world on whether or not to ban creating human clones. With
the
advancement of clone technology two states, California and Michigan have
already
banned the cloning of humans. "Everybody who thought it would
proceed
slowly and could be stopped was wrong, said Lee Silver, a professor
from the
University of Princeton (McFarling) . . ." Without proper
research on
behalf of the politicians of California and Michigan, the
premature ban should
be reconsidered and appealed. Cloning could provide a
way for infertile couples
to produce children genetically similar to
themselves, a method of creating
spare organs for transplants, and a cure for
genetic disease. Human cloning may
provide numerous benefits to mankind and
should not be banned. Cloning is the
Creation of another person that is
an exact copy of another person (Clarke);
this leaves too much to the
imagination and leads to misunderstanding of the
methods scientists use in
cloning. In more clear terms, cloning is the process
in which DNA of a female
egg is replaced with different DNA from another cell.
This process is
referred to as the Nuclear Transfer or Nuclear Substitution. DNA
molecules
are the strings of protein that hold genetic coding. In this
operation, the
nucleus, which is the part of the cell that contains the DNA, are
carefully
removed from an unfertilized female egg then replaced with the DNA
from the
cell of another person (Harris). The egg with the DNA from another
person is
then manipulated into believing it has been fertilized and is
implanted into
the womb of the mother just as is done in the process of vitro
fertilization.
Afterwards the fetus develops and is born after nine months, just
like a
natural baby (Dumesic). What this means is that the clone shares only
the
same DNA as the person from which it was cloned. It shares none of the
same
memories, knows none of the same people, and it will experience
completely
different things. The clone is like a much younger identical twin.
The person
and the clone of the person share the same genetic structure,
which means the
clone will look the exact same as the original. Studies have
shown that
identical twins who are raised apart often share similar
personalities and
intelligence, even though possessed of entirely different
experience and
background. A mixture between two people's genetic structure
could provide a way
for infertile couples or homosexual couples with a way to
create a genetically
related child. There are many couples in the world of
which one of the partners
is unable to naturally donate his/her genes for the
purpose of procreation. Only
through cloning technology will they be able to
give birth to a child that is
related to them genetically. Ensuring that the
families genes are passed on to
future generations would be more appealing to
parents than adoption or using
sperm and eggs from an unrelated donor. In
late 1997 Richard Seed announced that
he would attempt to create a child
using cloning technology, and his post
menopausal wife would be carrying the
child. "Seed, with no medical
credentials or funding, is not expected to
succeed (McFarling) . . ." It is
possible to create a full human being by
cloning, but the clone does not have to
develop into a full human. Inhibitors
can be injected into a growing clone so
that only certain organs will be
produced. This process does not require a
mother to carry the child for 9
months, and can be done in a laboratory petri
dish. This gives doctors a way
to create "spare parts" to be used in
transplants. The major problems with
transplants today are organ rejections; it
is important to find a donor that
matches certain criteria so that the immune
system does not destroy the
organ. For example, a liver can be grown outside the
body using the patients
own DNA and used in a transplant without fear of
rejection. This will
eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs and provide for
a healthier
recovery. Simple tissues such as skin cells have already been cloned
in
laboratories for use in skin grafts for burn victims. Other things that
have
been cloned include blood clotting factors for hemophiliacs, and plans
to create
specialized nerve cells to repair brain damage have begun
(McFarling). Another
possible medical advance that could be developed further
through cloning
research is the early diagnosis and even the curing of
genetic diseases such as
diabetes and heart disease. A method called gene
therapy is being developed by
where a solution is injected into the patient;
Once inside, the solution alters
the area of the DNA where the disease is and
fixes the problem (Blaese).
Diabetes is a disease in which the cells
cannot accept sugars from the blood
without the help of insulin from either
injection or oral pills. Diabetics could
undergo gene therapy, and insulin
could start being produced naturally again.
Other products that are
needed by humans, could be artificially produced by
animals through cloning
and genetic engineering. Genes from humans that produce
necessary proteins,
for example, could be included in the animal DNA so that the
animal would
produce that protein in its milk or blood. The protein could then
be
extracted and used in human treatments for various diseases or disorders
(Dumesic).
This could also lead to a prevention and or cure for AIDS and
cancer. A few
people have successfully continued to live with AIDS or cancer,
and in some
cases the disease has gone away. Part of their genetic structure
has
strengthened the immune system to the point that it rids the body of
these
diseases. Their genes could be used in gene therapy, and help to
strengthen
peoples immune systems so they too can rid their bodies of these
diseases.
Genetic defects could also be cured with cloning technology. A
genetic defect is
a mutation in which the DNA has been altered and caused an
abnormality in the
body. People who wish to have a child, could be tested for
possible mutations in
the DNA, and a genetic solution could be created and
injected into the still
developing egg (Blaese). Mutations are natural, but
when it causes an
abnormality it is a hard thing for a person to live with.
Through cloning
technology, genetic defects could be treated to the point
where the person
affected could live a normal life. The call for the ban of
human cloning has
been premature in the development of the procedure. The
benefits of cloning are
innumerable to the medical field and could
revolutionize potentially fatal
procedures. Humankind could benefit greatly
from this new technology, and it
should not be banned. If God was the
original "cloner" when he created
Eve from Adam's rib, and Jesus was a
clone of god. If we are wrong in cloning,
would not God also be?