The Ethical Issues of Human Cloning
             Twenty years from now, as you are walking around the square in Wilkes Barre, you pass someone who looks exactly like you. They have your same brown eyes, round face, light brown hair, short stature, and even the same dimples you possess. Can you imagine the shock and even fright that may accompany such a sighting? The world was bewildered when the news that an adult mammal was produced without any eggs being fertilized with sperm. The results of "Dolly" surprised society and the idea that human cloning was possible created an uproar. Many people disagree with cloning for ethical reasons. Opponents want human cloning banned, saying it would only create problems. On the other hand, scientists say it could have other benefits such as duplicating embryos for in vitro and replacing a dying child (Masci 1). Others argue that human cloning would open doors for treatments of serious diseases.
             "Cloning human beings could be beneficial," says Ruth Macklin, a professor of bioethics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City (Masci 2). One way in which cloning could be beneficial in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Cloning Research may improve IVF, in which an egg is removed from a woman's uterus, fertilized by a donated sperm, and then implanted into the uterus. Cloning could improve the effectiveness of IVF. Robert Stillman, one of the investigators in a recent cloning experiment, stated, "If a woman has only a single egg to be fertilized, the chances of a successful pregnancy are only about ten percent." He continues, "If more then four embryos are implanted, the success rates rise dramatically" (Stillman 1993). Cloning embryos could split one embryo into four and then increase the pregnancy rate for many women across the world. Splitting the embryos would avoid the procedure having to be done numerous times. It would reduce the p...