1. INTRODUCTION
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. However, this term not only refers to the entire artificial human, but also the reproduction of human cells and tissues. There are two types of theoretical human cloning: reproductive cloning which would involve making an entire cloned human and the other, therapeutic cloning, which would involve cloning cells from a human for use in medicine and transplants by somatic-cell nuclear transfer or pluripotent stem cell induction. In reproductive cloning the entire genetic code is reproduced from a single body cell of an adult individual. The most common cloning technique is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The procedure is as follows:
• The
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iPSCs are typically derived by introducing products of specific sets of pluripotency-associated genes, or "reprogramming factors", into a given cell type.
2. ISSUES
Although the human cloning seems fairly beneficial and useful for human welfare, the possibility of human cloning has raised controversies. Concerning reproductive cloning, advocates believe that parents who cannot otherwise procreate should have access to the technology. Some opponents have concerns that technology is not yet developed enough to be safe while others emphasize that reproductive cloning could be prone to abuse (leading to the generation of humans whose organs and tissues would be harvested), and have concerns about how cloned individuals could integrate with families and with society at large. With regards to therapeutic cloning, the problem is that many attempts are often required to create a viable egg. The stability of the egg with the infused somatic nucleus is poor and it can require hundreds of attempts before success is attained. Therapeutic cloning does result in the destruction of an embryo after stem cells are extracted and this destruction has stirred controversy over the morality of the procedure. Some argue that the pros outweigh the cons with regards to treating disease and support development of therapeutic cloning in order to generate tissues and whole
However, despite the benefits of therapeutic cloning, there are huge controversies surrounding the topic. One argument against therapeutic cloning is that creating stem cells on a
The issues concerning human reproductive cloning are shrouded in controversy, perhaps overshadowing the true advantages of cloning technology. Therapeutic cloning, which is often misunderstood as reproductive cloning, is less controversial than the latter as it does not involve the creating of an individual being. Instead, vital stem cells are extracted from human embryos, in order to generate tissues and organs for transplant.
It seems to be as if cloning is the new topic society can not stop talking about. Some people do not know what it is or they confuse the difference between the different type of cloning. There are two types of cloning therapeutic and reproductive cloning and there is a big difference between the both. Reproductive cloning is cloning a whole new organism while therapeutic cloning focuses on cloning an organ such as a heart, a kidney, a liver, and so on. Cloning of a body part is extremely helpful and essential to the survival of the human race. Cloning body parts also known as therapeutic cloning is the key to live a longer happy life because this procedure creates vital organs that can help people from suffering, it prevents other diseases, and it is much safer than reproductive cloning.
For many years there has been a large controversy over the use of cloning for therapeutic and reproductive purposes. The argument against therapeutic cloning is that creating an exact replica of one's self all for the use of harvesting its parts is considered killing another human being. However, some people are for this use so that they can survive as long as they can, and use the clones materials as a way to cure disease or heal injuries. On the other hand, reductive cloning also has two sides, for and against. People who believe that reproductive cloning is okay, want to create another version of themselves just to either have themselves as a baby or replace a loved one. But, people who are against reproductive cloning believe that it is a selfish or unreasonable act to have one birth a
As mentioned earlier, cloning is the copying of an organism that results in identical offspring (“Cloning”). Scientists have tried cloning many times on frogs and other organisms (“Cloning”), but when the first mammal to be cloned was successful in 1997, scientists jumped into pools of thoughts to clone humans. The first mammal to be cloned was a sheep named Dolly. The process of cloning Dolly was called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. The nucleus of a somatic stem cell is taken out of the eggs of the
Although that life has not developed past the embryonic stage many people consider the destruction of an embryo for stem cells a murder. Those who oppose therapeutic cloning believe that the process encourages embryo destruction and abortion, however many people do not consider the embryo as life since it has not been placed in a woman's womb and has not past the blastocyst stage. Therefore, the debate of whether life starts as an embryo or in a woman's womb has affected the views of many people regarding therapeutic cloning.
First, the turnout of clones if the embryo is implanted into a uterus could end up producing clones with disabilities. This has only been proven with animals that have been cloned. “The results of stem cell research and cloning have also been shown to be dangerous. The animals that have been cloned so far suffer from genetic defects” (Arnold, 2015, p. 2). But once it is done to humans many of the same genes will be passed through making it much easier for the birth defects to become more and more common. Heimbach (1998) states that, “Cloning could also increase the risk of birth defects if cloned individuals begin marrying nearly identical genetic relatives, a danger that will be hard to avoid in second and third generations.” (p.636). Not only would the clones be in danger, but also the women giving birth to these clones could be in danger as well. The future fertility of women who are allowing their eggs to be harvested are at risk as well as their health. Stark (2015) state's, “Cloning also requires harvesting large number of eggs from women. This process poses risks to women’s health and can threaten their future fertility. And the offer of payment for eggs can lead to the exploitation of low-income women” (p. 1). A life could be lost or serious health conditions could be caused, due to the birth of these clones for the women giving birth to them. Another factor that needs to be put into
While some believe cloning to be acceptable others feel equally strongly that human cloning is completely wrong. With the state of the science as it is at the moment it would involve hundreds of damaged pregnancies to achieve one single live cloned baby. What is more, all the evidence suggests that clones are unhealthy and often have a number of built-in genetic defects, which lead to premature ageing and death. It would be completely wrong to bring a child into the world knowing that it was extremely likely to be affected by problems like these. The dignity of human life and the genetic uniqueness we all have would be attacked if cloning became commonplace. People might be
Reprodictive Cloning is a matter of asexual reproduction meaning it will be related to you as in a new category of a human. Therapeutic Cloning is a kind of therapy for diseases.Cloning has been around for a long period of time. It first began with plants in the 1800s then it moved uo to the 1960s with small animals. The first mammal,Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1997.Neither reproductive or therapeutic cloning should be legal. If one kind of cloning becomes legal than most likely the other kind would be too. Not everybody would benefit from it, a human embryo is a human being, and regardless of the type, when it does not work it is a loss of a human,animal,or organism.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a second you? The process of cloning is something that is not necessarily very new but is something that is constantly being researched and improved. Most commonly in cloning the somatic cell nuclear transfer method is used.This is when you take a somatic cell(any cell other than the sex cells) from the person being cloned and a donor egg cell and extract the nucleus from the donor egg cell replacing it with the nucleus from the somatic cell. This fuses the donor egg and somatic cell together and next is placed in a surrogate organism that gives birth to that cell that was created. That is the process of cloning an organism. The world of cloning is new and mysterious but is something that could very
Reproductive cloning is the creation of a genetic copy of a current living being. A human clone would be a hereditary duplicate of a living person. Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Before the ethics of human cloning can be discussed, the mechanics of cloning must be understood first. Cloning is the process of making an exact genetic copy of an organism by a method called nuclear transplantation which is a process of removing a nucleus (the center of a cell which contains all of the biological information)
In order to be able to understand one needs to know the process of cloning involves. Although, there have been many proposed methods for cloning, only one of them has been successful so far. Put simply, cloning is the process in which the DNA of a female egg cell is replaced with different DNA from another cell. This technique is also called “Nuclear Transfer” or “Nuclear
To conclude, diverse opinions are strongly held regarding the ethnicity of human cloning which include: Safety concerns are expressed regarding human cloning, given there are too many unknowns concerning reproductive cloning of human, attempts to clone human is considered potentially dangerous and ethically irresponsible. Secondly, it is believed that human cloning is unlikely to be delivered in an equitable manner, as they may not be entitled to full rights, with a deeper concern regarding promoting trends of designer babies. Finally the last ethical issue discussed is that parental expectations and constant comparisons could psychologically affect the cloned child. (McConville, 2001, 399)
Another reason as to why human cloning technology still has a low success rate is due to the ethical reasons given by the government. According to NCSL in the article “Cloning Human Laws,” fifteen out of fifty one states have banned reproductive cloning. In addition, the banning of reproductive cloning will not support scientists with the funds for human cloning research, as well as prohibit the donation of human zygotes. This is significant because if there is no support from the government for funding and permission to research, then the human cloning technology will progress slowly and illegally in the United States. Contrary, Dr. Silver Lee believes that the cloned baby will be no different than children who are already born today. It will look like one parent and it will have many of the same behavior predispositions as the one parent. Dr. Silver Lee argues that there is no difference between a naturally reproductive baby and a clone baby. Children usually look like their parents so it does not matter if the baby is a clone or not, it will be treated like a child.