Human Cloning

Human Cloning

Is human cloning ethical? The answer to that question is no. The concept of humans considering cloning one another, forces every one of us to question the ideas of right and wrong that make us all human. The cloning of any species, whether they are human or non-human, is ethically and morally wrong. Scientists and ethicists alike have debated the dangerous implications of human and non-human cloning since 1997 when scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland produced a cloned sheep, named Dolly (O’Conner, 9). Compelling arguments state that cloning of both human and non-human species results in harmful physical and psychological effects on both groups.

What is a human clone? A human clone is really just a time-delayed identical twin of another person. Human clones are just human beings created in a laboratory. They would be carried and delivered after nine months by a human mother and would require eighteen years to reach adulthood just like everyone else. “Consequently, a clone-twin will be decades younger than the original person”(Edwards, 2). There is not a huge danger of people confusing a clone-twin with the original person. “As with identical twins, the clone and DNA donor would have different fingerprints”(Edwards, 2). A clone will not inherit any of the memories of the original person. These differences clarify that a clone is not an exact copy or

"double" of a person, just a much younger identical twin. “Human clones would have the same legal rights and responsibilities as any other human being” (Edwards, 5).

A human has never been cloned, so the concerns of physical harms and psychological harms are great. One of the dangers to the clone is the loss of identity or sense of uniqueness and individuality. Many argue that cloning creates serious issues of identity and individuality that may force humans to reconsider the definition of self. "Children begin with a kind of genetic independence of [the parent] they replicate neither their father nor their mother” (Meilaender, 6). When a clone is manufactured, it devalues their life; we treat them as objects to be designed rather than subjects or agents capable of their own making” (Ruse, 108). Expectations for the clone would naturally be very high, and could be demeaning to the clone, if they are not met.

The negative consequences of cloning would be great on society. Cloning could lead towards the idea of a perfect society, where individuals use cloning in an attempt to perfect the human race by reproducing genetically superior individuals. It would almost certainly get out of hand; those seen as extremely intelligent and attractive would be constantly cloned thus changing the world. “Exceptional people are valuable in many ways, both culturally and financially. For example, movie stars and sports stars are often worth hundreds of millions of dollars.” (Graham, 8) However, this doesn’t mean we should clone those valuable people because that would only lessen their value, and no doubt create chaos. Individuals may feel the need to have their dead or dying child cloned, as well as clone themselves in order to have a set of “spare parts” just in case something happens to them. The cloning of a

man being would not serve any necessary or beneficial medical purpose to the world. A clone technically has no parents, not by accident, but by design. human being clones can not be created to be like natural human beings because when parenthood is withheld, it makes them completely different from the rest of society. Since the clone is not actually conceived, but created, who is responsible for taking care of the clone? “The clone is then reduced to the level of a product rather than a person”(O’Conner, 12). Cloning would lead to the loss of individuality because ones genetic predispositions and conditions would be known, where would the mystery be? If raised by a clone-parent or as a sibling of the clone, one may have astonishing expectations to live up to. “However, the human clones could differ greatly in personality and even grow up with different conditions than the cloned”(Edwards, 7). “The fact that expectations and anticipations are already made for the clone will surely cause great stress to the clone and possibly even create the loss of ability for the clone to choose for itself” (Meliaender, 14). The outcome of how a clone would act is simply unknown, but potential psychological consequences are great.

Cloning goes against everything that we know is good and natural and decent about family relationships, both of the kind which extends to children and other relatives as well as that centering on the deepest and most proper connections between men and women. The cloning of humans can never be ethical. Cloning destroys the concepts of family and parenthood, which adds to the strain of