Cloning How Far Will it Go
Everyday people find themselves at a crossroads that requires a decision as to which path to follow. In the past few years, scientists have gained knowledge about cloning that could impact our lives for centuries to come. As a society we are at a crossroads and we will have to decide how to use this knowledge. Will we choose to increase our power over nature or will we develop a partnership? There are many benefits of cloning, but do they outweigh the possibility of losing genetic diversity, facing genetic discrimination, and the scary consequences portrayed in science fiction books like Brave New World and 1984, and movies like Gattaca and Planet of the Apes. ?Cloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism? (Hawley 1). In a sense, many plants, algae, unicellular organisms, and even humans naturally produce identical offspring. For example, the dandelion reproduces asexually to create a copy of itself. As a species it has reached a plateau and can no longer progress. Within the human species, identical twins are essentially clones. The division of the embryo produces two embryos with the exact same genetic information. The consequence of a species only pr
On the other hand, cloning can be beneficial without having to intervene in the natural reproduction of humans. Theoretically, using cloning or more specifically, genetic engineering, to eliminate diseases is similar to using vaccinations to prevent polio, chicken pox, and measles. Another consequence of the knowledge associated with the research of cloning is genetic discrimination. It is hard to say where to draw the line on researching these techniques. Without diversity, one disease could wipe out the whole population because no person would be able to fight a disease any better than anyone else. First of all, people should not be allowed to choose the sex of their baby. ? It would be unfortunate to let humanity be lost to the processes associated with picking the right color paint or couch for a room or the perfect car to look cool in. If genes are used to determine how successful one will be, then why can?t someone say that it wasn?t his fault that he murdered a person, it was his bad genes that caused him to do it? The complexities of human life would be lost if we allowed genes to determine one?s ability to succeed, instead of allowing personality traits like leadership, spunk, and passion to be the key to achieving success. If we allow this to become a common procedure, then soon parents will be requesting a certain height, weight, hair, and eye color, and making sure the baby has no diseases. In Brave New World, the author writes about ?making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Imagine a group similar to the Nazi?s choosing to eliminate a race because of a minute inadequacy revealed by genetic information. Also, the clone would not be considered a different person because the clone would be filling the void of the original person. This knowledge could also be used to develop ?nerve cells for spinal cord injuries, skin cells for burns, and bone cells for osteoporosis? (Meek).
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