The Ethics of Cloning Essay example - 1453 Words

The 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 seeking to clone genetically superior humans. Others argue that the positive effects of cloning will outweigh the negative. The issue over whether cloning humans is ethical is receiving more and more attention as scientists successfully†¦show more content†¦Kants ideas of autonomy can then also be used against cloning. In the specific arguments given on both sides of the issue that follow, both of these moral philosophies are apparent. In understanding why some chose to reject or accept the practice of cloning, basic knowledge how cloning is achieved becomes helpful. Some reject cloning because they believe humans are playing God, others claim that scientists do not create life by cloning any more than they would in the practice of in vitro fertilization. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, cloning is to reproduce or propagate asexually. This is obviously not the traditional form of human reproduction. There are three basic methods of cloning: separating the embryo and making twins with the same genetic make-up, taking a cell from a fertilized ovum when the cell begins to split and replace it in another females ovum, or nuclear transplantation (Travis). The famous cloning of an adult ewe, whos offspring was named Dolly, was accomplished through the second method by Dr. Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland (World Book). Dolly was born by taking genetic m aterial from cells in the mammary glands of a 6 year-old ewe and putting the acquired cells into an unfertilized ovum. Out of 277 tries, researchers eventually produced only 29 embryos that survived longer than 6 days, of these 29, all died beforeShow 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 Essay1504 Words   |  7 PagesAccording 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 quiet ly, 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