Cloning
Since the beginning of time, man has been afraid of the unknown. The caveman was afraid of fire, Columbus feared falling off the edge of the earth, and modern man fears cloning.Fire has been a friend to man for thousands of years. Although ships are still lost at sea, the theory that the earth is round is holding true. But the mere mention of cloning still brings to mind visions of Frankenstein's monster in all but the most informed individuals. Hardy individuals are needed to lead the way into the future, whether it is exploring new worlds or expanding our scientific frontiers. For most people, the idea of human cloning raises moral and ethical issues. The public has cried out against producing monsters without souls for the purpose of donating organs. The president also made his position clear in a recent press release, and has directed the National Institute of Health not to fund human cloning (Clinton 1). However controversial the subject, the benefits that will be provided by cloning and cloning research make it imperative that the research continues. Although cloning likens itself to tales of Frankenstein and is very frightening to think about in that context, cloning takes p
The children born of these donors will fulfill the parents' desperate dreams when illness or infertility has previously prevented them from having families. In 1990, two scientists from George Washington University succeeded in growing a human embryo in a laboratory setting. While human reproduction by cloning is in its infancy, significant progress has been made in cancer-cloning studies. Thousands of babies are born each year from in vitro fertilization, often with donated eggs or sperm, and often with surrogate mothers. Others prohibit their members from receiving any medical procedures from lifesaving antibiotics to simple inoculations. Just as every individual is guaranteed by Article I of the Bill of Rights the right to practice religion, the individual also has the right to choose not to participate in the benefits that may be realized by the research on cloning. Parents could be assured their child would be born without a genetic tendency toward cancer, diabetes or hemophilia. Those people with moral or religious objections should feel free not to participate in any benefits that may be gained by this research. Of course, there is a possibility of misuse in this situation. If cloning could give an infertile couple a healthy child, they should not be denied having a family. Like any significant scientific advancement, cloning does present some controversial issues. At this stage, the cancer cells seem to clone more successfully than the more fragile healthy cells, but scientists hope that certain genetic defects can be removed from the nucleus cell before fertilization, producing an embryo that would not have the defect. This method of fertilization is no longer questioned. Moral outrage has not been able to set limits for scientific research.
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