“cloning” and It's Misunderstanding

The first successful clone was created in 1997. The clone was a sheep named Dolly which was created from a single cell, an egg, which had DNA inserted into it from its host mother ewe. The egg was then placed in the mothers womb and born 5 months later. Dolly was the first successful

clone out of 277 failed attempts each resulting in the death of an egg. Dolly which had no biological father was an exact replica of her mother. Since the creation of Dolly Scientist not only brought forth the first clone, but also the many instense ethical questions which seem to have difficult answers. These ethical questions contain complex issues which lead to much of the misunderstanding in today's

general population about cloning. The complication of the issues with cloning only seems to deepen as science is researched. The main question in today's

society about cloning is whether or not cloneing a human being is unetheical, and what reasons validate the cloning of human beings. Also a question which many seem to associate with cloneing is “Is stem cell research an ethical scienticfic practice?”. There is a distinct difference between the two which is often misunderstood.

If someone is asked about their opinnion on the cloning of other human beings for reproduction the majority of scientist, politicians, religious groups, and people in general all seem to have a common ground. Everyone seems to agree that cloning of other human beings for reproductive purposes is unethical. There are three different types of cloning: Adult DNA Cloning (Also know as Reproductive Cloning), Embryo Cloning (The cloning of embryos to produce twins), and Therapeutic Cloning (Also known as Research Cloning). The question that contains the most difficult answers is whether cloning human beings for research (Therapeutic cloning) is unethical. Where the complexity of this question lies is not whether cloning human beings for therapeutic cloning is unethical but rather what lines define a human being and what restrictions will do to future hope of finding curses for diabetes and other major illnesses. During the therapeutic cloning procedure a women’s ovum is taken and striped of its DNA. Next step is to take the DNA of another human and place it in the ovum. After shocking the newly combined ovum it starts to become a pre-embryo. This pre-embryo is allowed to grow for a few days before it is stripped of its stem cells and dies. These stem cells are the basic building blocks for creating organs. Each stem cell has the ability to turn into any of the 220 different type of cells in the human body, which is why there are so vitally needed in research to find cures towards illnesses. These stem cells may form organs which may in the future be able to be transferred into humans. If stems cells were eventually fully understood, researched, and controlled it may be assumed that they would have a huge impact in medical science and cure many diseases. Now the difference between stem cell research and therapeutic cloning is that the embryos are obtained through different means. Stem cell research is conducted when a women begins the in Vitro Fertilization Pre-Embryo Transfer. In which case up to 16 pre-embryos are obtained. Each pre-embryo is fertilized in a attempt to have a child outside the mothers womb. When a In Vitro procedure is successful 12-14 pre-embryos are left over from the procedure. In which case mothers may choose to donate their pre-embryos for stem cell research.