Cloning Issues Essay, Research Paper

Most people panic when they hear the words ?Human Cloning?. Crazy thoughts

run through their heads, imaginations run wild. They think of the world being

run over by a million little Hitler?s. They think of people thinking exactly

like one another, and that no person would be different. And for some reason

because of cloning, the world, as we know it will cease to exist. Cloning to

some people is even considered ?evil.? Most religious people believe that it

is ?Playing God?, they think that mankind is not supposed to have this

power. Cloning, however, is not a magical way of creating life. It is a

scientific procedure that will save many lives, cure diseases and let infertile

couples have biological children of their own. Many mammals have already been

cloned successfully and lead normal lives. The clone will not be the exact same

person as the donor. They will look alike and have the same genes, but they will

not talk, think, or act alike. In fact, if someone attempted to clone Hitler

they might end up with a moderately talented artist. Neither will the clone

start off at the same age as the donor. If the donor is 35 the clone will start

off as a normal baby. The benefits of human cloning are many. One of the most

crucial problems in the world is finding organ donors that have compatible

organs with the person that needs them. If there is a patient with a very rare

blood type, chances are that they will die before they find a match. Using

cloning technology, you can clone a person?s organs, grow them, and then use

them for a transplant. The organ is guaranteed to be 100% compatible with the

patient. This procedure could save millions upon millions of lives. I can not

understand how anyone could say that we have ?A moral obligation to ban

cloning? when it could save millions of people?s lives. I am sure if it was

them lying on their deathbed, they would be screaming, ?Clone my kidneys!?

Another benefit is that using cloning technology otherwise infertile couples

will be able to have their very own biological children. To do this you do not

need viable sperm or egg, any cell will do. There are 12,000 infertile people in

the U.S. alone. One of the most common reasons for suicide, divorce and

depression is infertility. There are other options for infertile people, but

they are painful, costly, and have a very low success rate. Besides, how would

you like some other woman giving birth to your child using artificial

insemination? Just think about it, cloning is the best scientific discovery

since penicillin. Cloning technology can help ?perfect? gene therapy, the

actual correction or replacement of defective gene sequences. Gene therapy is

currently limited because of inefficient vectors, or viruses that convey new

genes into cells. A copy of a defective gene is in every cell of the body. These

viruses must infect every one of these cells and replace the defective genes

with the normal genes. However, these vectors only infect a small amount of

cells. This deems gene therapy inefficient. Human cloning can change this.

Scientists can determine which cells received the desired gene alteration using

fluorescent tags; the cells that were affected would glow. Cloning technology

would allow scientists to take a cell that had its genome modified and use it to

produce an offspring. The resulting child and its descendants would carry the

corrected gene in every cell. Cloning technology may be able cure Tay-Sachs

disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Huntington?s disease and

countless others. Cloning, is a new procedure, and like every new procedure

there are some risks. That is why the government should fund human cloning

research. Human cloning is in no way perfected at this time, but without

government support more people will continue to die. People will not be able to

have biological children and parents will continue to pass down diseases from

one generation to the next. Human cloning should be regulated, not banned. The

government is the only thing standing in the way of perfected human cloning.

Even without government consent scientists will establish secret laboratories

and human cloning centers. Some even believe that this kind of research is going

on now. Gene therapy is another new science that can help millions of people,

but without cloning it will take far more years and countless more lives before

it is perfected. The federal government should regulate human cloning. Banning

it would deprive many beneficial treatments from people who need it. I have

mentioned only a few of cloning technology?s significant benefits. Cloning

technology can lead to a better understanding of cell differentiation. This

would allow biologist to produce tissues and organs for transplant. Cloning can

help carriers of genetic defects to have healthy children. It can even help to

completely eradicate genetic mutations and defects. Treatment of infertility is

one of its most promising benefits. Cloning technology can help infertile people

to have their own children; one of life?s most powerful biological drives.

Besides, ethical implications involved in human cloning are only temporary. They

are induced by misconception. Education will change people?s negative attitude

towards human cloning. If we give human cloning a chance, it will most likely

become a part of our daily lives.