Abstract
human cloning is often viewed from a negative standpoint and very rarely noted for its positive capabilities. Many people are against cloning due their own personal or religious morals but there are actually many beneficial features to it. Such possible features include: cloning of body appendages and organs, and harvesting stem cells from embryos for medical solutions; reproduction for infertile couples, and single females and males. The most important outcome of cloning is possibility of saving millions of lives. Possible benefits of human cloning will be discussed throughout this paper.
Human Cloning: Should It Be Permitted?
Introduction
Cloning is the general term for research activity that creates a copy of some biological entity. A gene, cell, or organism is an example of an entity. There are two types of cloning; therapeutic and reproductive.
Therapeutic cloning is for medical purposes only. The difference between therapeutic and reproductive is in the treatment of the embryo once nuclear transfusion has occurred. Nuclear transfusion is when the nucleus of a cell is drawn and inserted into an egg, in hope of creating an embryo (2004 http://humancloning.org/index.php).
Therapeutic cloning focuses mainly on stem cells, which in the future could prevent and possibly cure many life-threatening diseases. Stem cells are found inside embryos during the first two weeks of their development and have the potential to develop into any kind of cell in the human body. After two weeks stem cells change into more specialized tissues. They can be kept in culture and replenished continuously. Stem cells act by binding and making vital body parts stronger to withstand an illness or disease, while eliminating the weaker cells.
The Term Paper on Stem Cell Research Cells Human Embryos
Derivation of Embryonic cells from early human embryos, Embryonic germ cells and fetal stem cells from aborted, fetal tissues raise ethical, legal, religious, financial and sociological questions. Further, the potential uses of stem cells for gathering human tissues or perhaps organs, is a subject of the ongoing public debate. In discussing weather stem cell placement does more harm than good, it ...
Reproductive cloning aims on developing a new individual from nuclear transfusion. This method of cloning focuses more on the benefit of infertile couples and a terminally ill person having his or her clone live a better life, with better odds of the possibility of living.
The first attempts at artificial cloning were started as early as the beginning of this century. The first implantation of a nucleus into an egg cell occurred in 1952 by Robert Briggs and Thomas J. King in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Briggs and King transferred the nuclei of a Leopard Frog’s eggs. Unfortunately, the cloning attempt was unsuccessful and the egg cells did not develop. Nuclear transfer of the embryo cells was not successful till the 1970’s by John Gurdon. Gurdon repeated Briggs’ and King’s frog implantation to make the transfusion complete. The embryos of the frog successfully developed into tadpoles, which was a breakthrough for the beginning stages of cloning. In 1996, Scottish scientists Dr. Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell cloned “Dolly”, which became the world’s first cloned sheep. Soon afterwards, rodents, swine, and cattle were cloned. Scientists today who believe in the possibilities of cloning are striving to perfect nuclear transfusion technology in hopes of using this power to benefit all mankind.
Efforts have been made to get the United Nations to pass a ban on human reproductive cloning. Many people feel it is unethical to make human clones but they shouldn’t try to intervene or influence others to ban cloning. They should simply not have themselves cloned. There is false belief that if humans are cloned something terrible could go wrong. If that’s the case, then everyone shouldn’t fly in airplanes. Airplanes risk something going wrong every time they take off and the same risks apply to automobiles. People often say cloning isn’t natural, but in nature there are organisms that actually clone themselves through asexual reproduction like some species of snails and shrimps.
The Essay on Cloning 42
... then be able provide nerve cells for spinal injury victims or muscle cells for heart attack patients.Benefits of Human Cloning says that cancer could also ... increase their population. Medical Benefits of Cloning said that many animals are also being bred to provide organs for organ transplant patients. They are ...
There are many benefits to human cloning. The first benefit is the possibility to reverse heart attacks. By injecting healthy heart cells derived from stem cells, a weak heart could virtually become stronger. Stem cells could have this effect for almost any human organ. I feel this is the greatest benefit, because heart disease is the number one killer in the United States (Kalb, 2004).
Human cloning also presents the idea of unlimited organs for organ transplants. Many tests are done to determine whether an organ is compatible with a person or not. Blood type, tissue type, weight and age are factors that help in determining whether or not a person will reject the organ transplant (Kalb, 2004).
Therefore, cloning will provide the best match for a person seeking an organ transplant.
With new cloning technology, doctors will be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage that matches the patient’s tissues (Kalb, 2004).
This technology possibly will replace implants and other cosmetic procedures in the near future. Victims of horrible accidents will be able to have injuries and features to the body repaired with cells, instead of artificial parts (2004 http://humancloning.org/index.php).
Limbs of amputees face the possibility of being regenerated.
Another benefit of cloning is the possibility for infertile couples to have children. Current treatments for infertility don’t have high success rates, approximately ten percent (McGee, 2002, p. 163).
The present treatments for infertility are time consuming and causes patients to endure physical and emotional stress. Human cloning technology in the future will allow for the production of children with genes from each parent and raising a clone of one of the parents.
Conclusion
The end result of my beliefs is human cloning should not be banned. The new technology could provide many health benefits to people, like finding cures for cancer, preventing heart attacks, regenerating limbs and organs. The final reason human cloning should be allowed is because of the benefits it allows infertile women to have, by giving them more hope of having children and to reduce the risk of babies getting many different diseases from sexual intercourse. I feel the positive results of human cloning outweigh the negative results and that it is ethical. Currently no laws have been passed banning cloning, but the United States legislation office is against the experiments. If the United States doesn’t join other countries in the advancement of cloning, they will be surpassed and limited in medical technology.
The Essay on Cloning: Donor Organs
Cloning is becoming very popular in the world with each new day. Thousands of scientists make a lot of researchers and tests in order to find alive part of the body and to make it live in incubator conditions. The most essential problem, which all doctors wished to solve with the help of cloning, is the production of donor organs. There are several advantages and disadvantages of this. First of ...
References
McGee, G. (2002) The Human Cloning Debate. Berkeley, California:Berkeley Hills Books.
Kalb, C. (2004, February).
Newsweek. Retrieved April 18, 2004, from http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Newsweek/2004/02/23/379090?nbdTopicID=6
(2004)The Human Cloning Foundation. Retrieved April 19, 2004, from http://humancloning.org/index.php
