The Challenge Of Human Cloning: Pros And Cons

Nowadays, due to cloning disobeys human being’s moral value, it has become a thorny issue even though it can benefit human beings and our society in lots of areas. Specifically, it is generally thought that it is immoral and unethical to clone human beings for various reasons, but the morality of human cloning cannot be reached yet since it is still a new technology. Additionally, attitudes toward it differ widely. Critics argue that cloning can be a risk factor of affecting human being’s uniqueness, cause psychological and physical effects on human beings, result in the potential harms to the society and create strange kinship, and instability of cloning technology; however, advocates claim that cloning also can advance biomedical technology, improve the medical standards, and protect our environment. Moreover, it is undeniable that potential danger exists in human cloning which may cause serious consequences, but we cannot ignore the huge benefits that human cloning could bring such as the medical science improvement. Hence, it is essential to show the pros and cons of cloning.

Some people argue that cloning of human beings is unethical because it deprives human being’s uniqueness and brings social issues. “Life is a creation, not a commodity,” said President Bush, “Our children are gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed and manufactured. No human life should be exploited or extinguished for the benefit of another” (President par. 15). President Bush is carrying out a prohibition order; he believes that human cloning is unethical and immoral. In addition, cloned people may lose some special values each person should have. In this world, every person is unique, but human cloning would break this situation. However, cloned people are non-natural products and it is unfair for the people who are cloned. Imagine if there are two exactly same Brad Pitt, will he still be the unique actor as before? Furthermore, cloning technology can promise the same appearance, but not able to guarantee to clone people’s personalities since characters are related with people’s growth environment and are formed in the process of human growth. Thus, President Bush’s speech reveals that why it is unacceptable for human cloning. To demonstrate, in article “Medical Research”, it shows that human cloning technology’s instability is a big issue for people’s safety and human morality. In article “Science”, it mentioned about an experiment of creating hybrid embryonic stem cells, which is a new creature by combining a human cell with a cow egg. It challenges human ethnic theory in a brave step, but it is also intolerant for human morality. Therefore, since human cloning technology offends our social morality, article “Medicine and Health” provides a new way of thinking article “Science” by emphasizing its immorality and unnatural.

Human cloning prompts a series of social problems, and it also causes complex family issues. Moreover, it could make the cloned people suffer psychological blow, and complex family relationships of cloned people will bring future negative impact on both survival and growth. According to my interview with Professor Peter Cherbas, who works in Biology department in Indiana University Bloomington, “Human cloning is a process of copying others, so compared to the normal laws of human society, it is an unnatural product,” says Professor Cherbas, “and a cloned person would not have a father and a mother just like we have, and it appears that they will have awkward position in the family which is hard to accept by cloned people. “Cloning is the creation of cells or whole animals using DNA from a single ‘parent’, by passing the normal reproductive process” (What is Cloning par. 2). This means a cloned child is the descendant of a single person, while usually the proliferation of human needs the combination of opposite sex. In this case, cloned children will only have one single biological related “mother”, which could result in some psychological trauma since it is impossible for them to have a complete family and they have to accept the truth of their “mothers” have the exactly same appearances with themselves. We need to respect life, and it is worthless to risk mankind’s future and it is also unfair for the cloned people to suffer something that normal people do not have to face.

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Human cloning could lead some complex family relationship and unethical kinship. Furthermore, it is unethical that cloned people are separated from parents’ relationship and other human relationship. Moreover, it would be awkward that the cloned child can be the mother’s child or her twin sister. Due to the cloned person only has one single “parent”, the family relationship is abnormal and it will be a big challenge for the cloned people to build their family relationship or kinship. Specifically, the cloned person will be in an embarrassing position in the family. For a man, the cloned child could either be his son or his twin brother; for a woman, the kid can be her daughter or her twin sister. Moreover, the “mother” or the “father” has to face a person who has exactly same appearance with themselves which is awkward. Someone might desire to clone their dead family member. However, there is no substitute for human’s life or an individual person. Cloning might bring back the body of the lost family member, but it absolutely will not be the dead one you know since science cannot guarantee the same characters and thoughts. For instance, “CC, the cloned cat mentioned above, does not quite look like its mother, Rainbow, a calico tri-colored female. At one year CC also has a different personality from her mother, being much more playful and curious” (Lauritzen 458). Therefore, even though it may have chances to bring the dead back to life, he or she will not be the same person you know before.

Human cloning technology is still limited significantly, and its instability is likely to lead to a series of new infectious diseases and thus cause the loss of humans’ various genes. Ultimately, it could lead to an uncontrollable disaster around the whole world. During the process of researching organ cloning, it is really easy to develop some new diseases which may cause huge consequences. “So far cloning animal organs is still a new technology, and new technology often has limitations and safety issues. If cloned animal organs were transplanted into human bodies, I personally think the consequences would be disastrous,” says Professor Peter Cherbas, “after all, animals and humans are different species, so genes will be different for sure. You know, there is no 100% guarantee in the world.” It shows that the uncertainity of human cloning can make people exposed to all kinds of diseases easily and can lead the whole human beings to extinction ultimately. Thus, human cloning has potential danger and it lacks stability as well.

On the other hand, others hold that human cloning can bring huge benefits to medical treatments such as organ cloning and fertility problems by promoting scientific progress. Particularly, organ cloning provides great chances for those people who need organs. According to a recent survey conducted by COLUMBIA, Missouri (CNN), “At the moment, approximately 75,000 Americans, awaiting organ transplants. Many people died of shortage of organs. Meanwhile, large amounts of organs are in need, but the offers of human donor organs still keep steady. However, researchers say they have taken a major step toward cloning pigs whose hearts, lungs and kidneys could be safely transplanted into humans” (Research). With the development of the cloning technology, scientists could clone human organs instead of using animals’ organs. Secondly, cloning can help infertile couples to have their own children so that they do not have to use other people’s sperm or eggs. Furthermore, even lesbians and gays can have children of their own as well. For example, “if the male or husband is sterile, or does not produce sperm, DNA from one of his cells could be inserted into a de-nucleated egg from the female or wife who would also bear the child. Both would then be contributing to the make up and birth of the child. If the woman is infertile, another woman’s egg could be used along with the DNA of the infertile woman or her husband or partner” (Lauritzen 456). It shows that people have rights to get a bright future since human cloning will benefit many people and widen the modern medicine world’s horizon. Therefore, human cloning technology can improve medical improvements, and huge potential strengths of human exist in cloning technology.

Another benefit of cloning is that it could be used to treat many incurable disease so that many patients can regain health. Moreover, cloning technology covers diseases such as cancer, the Parkinson’s disease, and other disease. Additionally, cloning technology can also prevent genetic disease to some extent, and this would greatly improve the population fitness. In article “Medical Research”, it illustrates specific points and detailed examples to explain human cloning technology can provide chances to cure various diseases. To illustrate, “It was thought that embryonic stem cells had the potential for a great number of medical applications, including the development of laboratory-created organs for donation, and treatments for ailments including heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, among many others” (Medical). Specifically, it helps better explain how human cloning cures diseases. However, because of the government’s complete ban on it, human cloning technology cannot bring its advantage to medical area. However, advances in technology are always built on the basis of risk. Thus, if human cloning is delayed, it will be a loss of scientific success and a torture for many unfortunate suffers because the diseases could have been prevented.

Besides the advantages of human cloning mentioned above, another huge benefit is that it could be used to protect environment and increase the amout of endangered wildlife. Luckily, scientists have successfully cloned some endangered ones. “The recent report surprising success in cloning mouflon (a species of wild sheep) is notable for several reasons. The success rate was much greater than when the domestic sheep, Dolly, was cloned. It is also noteworthy that the donor nuclei were obtained from dead donor mouflon” (Ryder 372, 373). The success of cloning a mouflon proves that cloning could be used to collect endangered wildlife’s gene data. The activities of humans have led to the extinctions of many species. If we have a gene database of endangered species, we can maintain the ecological system by saving endangered plants and animals. According to a video of Sky News, “British scientists are using a pioneering form of cloning to help save the northern white rhino from the brink of extinction. There are only nine of the animals in captivity and even fewer out in the wild” (Sky News). It proves endangered wildlife could be protected by the technology of cloning and thus to maintain the ecological system. Therefore, maybe after several years, pandas can be seen in every country around the world.

In short, cloning technology plays an important role in fighting diseases and it can help people stay healthy as well. Simultaneously, cloning still needs some improvements because it is not absolutely safe at the moment, and it has the possibility that it might lead to a lot of harms and disasters. Personally, I am of the opinion that cloning should be encouraged in a right way because I think its advantages are greater than its disadvantages. There is an old saying that goes “No pains, no gains”. Technology is improving, and social is making progress as well. Finally, it is true that social morality is important, but the projects which are beneficial to mankind cannot be measured based solely on the standards of morality.