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 How a human might be cloned using the
"Dolly" method
- The diagram on the left shows how a human would be cloned using
the "Dolly" method. Cells can also be taken from a male.
- True human cloning would require taking a somatic cell, as
opposed to a reproductive cell such as an egg or sperm cell, from a
person and removing its nucleus. The DNA of the somatic cell is
transferred to an enucleated egg cell. But this is not currently
possible because the somatic cells are specialized and there are many
genes that have been "turned off" that we do not know how to
turn back "on".
- A "human clone" is a time-delayed identical twin of
another person. A clone is not an exact replica of the original, but
just a much younger identical twin. As with identical twins, the clone
and the orignal person will have different fingerprints
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Arguments
For Human Cloning
Human cloning
research would enable doctors to determine the cause of spontaneous
abortions, give oncologists an understanding of the rapid cell growth of
cancer, allow the use of stem cells to regenerate nerve tissues, and
advance work on aging, genetics, and medicines They argue that aside from
helping infertile couples, cloning might result in spin-off technologies
that could improve current reproductive technologies such as in vitro
fertilization. It might also help scientists discover cures for some
diseases.
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Arguments Against Human Cloning
Wilmut, the scientist credited with "Dolly," calls the cloning of
humans "appalling," because it would result in a high number of
miscarriages and deaths among newborns. A clone could also change family
dynamics in profound and unpredictable ways
The National Bioethics Advisory Commission: "While using animals to
understand the biological processes that produced "Dolly" holds
great promise for future medical advances, there is no current scientific
justification for attempting to produce a human child at this time with
this technique."
Concern has been raised that a black market for embryos would arise.
Infertile couples could buy a cloned embryo that was stolen or was to be
discarded in order to have a child .
Scientists are also concerned about the medical risks and uncertainties
associated with human cloning. One fear is that if a baby is cloned, its
chromosomes could match the age of the donor – meaning that a "5-year
old would look like a 10-year old and a 10-year would look like a 20-year
old, with potential for heart disease and cancer to develop."
Problems could also be identity crisis by the clone. And also by
the creatrix because these ones understand first later that they have made
itself again. Then they could fights against each other to destroy the
mirror or the copy.
Other questions are also religious. Should we play God and create
life ourselves? Isn’t there a ban, a barrier, that we shouldn’t cross?
There’s also
the opponents’ fear that parents have the complete control over the genome
of their children, this might lead to the objectification of children.
Parents could begin to view children as an object and not as a subject and
not recognize that they have worth in and of themselves. Supporters argue
also that cloned children might be used to donate organs or replace a lost
loved one for example.
There’s also
the fear, that people decide which traits and characters are desirable and
which not. Some have articulated fears that over time cloning might become
"almost a preferred practice" and parents who choose to
"play the lottery of old-fashioned reproduction would be considered
irresponsible". But there’s also the opinion, that cloning is less radical
than other technologies such as gene manipulation because "cloning
takes a genome as it is" instead of manipulating.
There’s also
that argument that cloning is unethical because the children could influent
by the past of their parents and thought that they have to act in the same
way in their future.
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