POST #13: Cloning
Topic: Discuss the science of cloning, its uses, and the ethical and religious considerations of it as presented in the articles assigned.
Cloning
Cloning is a method that biotechnologists use to create identical copies of an original organism or the entire living thing. Technically, it is the transplantation of a nucleus from a somatic cell into an ovum, which then develops into an embryo.
There are many medical applications of cloning. Therapeutic cloning, for example, creates stem cells genetically compatible with the patient and provides a way to grow organs in a host carrier, which may replace the original diseased host organ with the hope of extending human life or maintaining the quality of life. Cloning of a gene can also successfully identify the gene’s association with certain phenotype of the host.
Despite the enormous scientific benefits, cloning faces great oppositions. Theologians, ethicists, and religious figures hold opinions strongly against the cloning of humans. The issue of morality of human cloning has been in debate since the first sign of possible human cloning and has not yet reached consensus.
The concerns people have for cloning humans are raised from a solid ground. “It took the scientists who created Dolly 277 tries before they got a healthy viable lamb. Because cloning humans is more complicated, even more death and lethal birth defects can be expected during experimentation” (Fox, Technology).
From the religious point of view, each human being is a unique individual created by God, and thus the cloning of human is against God’s will. The official opinion of the Roman Catholic Church is that “every possible act of cloning human is intrinsically evil” (NBAC 54). Roman Catholics believe that cloning violates the dignity and sanctity of man’s existence and objectifies children by manipulating and duplicating their lives.
From the ethical point of view, human cloning might harm the physical and psychological welfare of the child. In Dolly’s case, there is an accelerated aging process because the mitochondria from the host gene are as old as the original host. This problem has not been fixed yet and therefore people are afraid that cloning is not safe enough for humans.
Moreover, even if the clone child is created completely health physically, the child may feel a loss of individuality and personal autonomy. Ethicists have concerns for both possible psychological harms to the child and possible degradation of the quality of parenting and family life. Parents, especially the mother, may not love the child as much as if they have been through the natural process of pregnancy to give birth to the child.
And like the Roman Catholics, ethicists feel that cloning may generate possible objectification of cloned children. Since technology allows parents to do cherry-picking with desirable traits of the cloned child, paying to clone children is almost like buying products. Ethicists are concerned that in an attempt to create a more superior offspring, people will give up on traditional reproduction method altogether and use cloning as a general practice to have kids.
There are many possible benefits and hope that comes with the technology of cloning. However, as people from both the ethical and religious fields reflect, there are doubts in the morality of such practice in addition to the immaturity of the technique, which on the other hand raises concerns for safety. Cloning humans may have a prospective future but it still has a long way to go.
Cloning
Cloning is a method that biotechnologists use to create identical copies of an original organism or the entire living thing. Technically, it is the transplantation of a nucleus from a somatic cell into an ovum, which then develops into an embryo.
There are many medical applications of cloning. Therapeutic cloning, for example, creates stem cells genetically compatible with the patient and provides a way to grow organs in a host carrier, which may replace the original diseased host organ with the hope of extending human life or maintaining the quality of life. Cloning of a gene can also successfully identify the gene’s association with certain phenotype of the host.
Despite the enormous scientific benefits, cloning faces great oppositions. Theologians, ethicists, and religious figures hold opinions strongly against the cloning of humans. The issue of morality of human cloning has been in debate since the first sign of possible human cloning and has not yet reached consensus.
The concerns people have for cloning humans are raised from a solid ground. “It took the scientists who created Dolly 277 tries before they got a healthy viable lamb. Because cloning humans is more complicated, even more death and lethal birth defects can be expected during experimentation” (Fox, Technology).
From the religious point of view, each human being is a unique individual created by God, and thus the cloning of human is against God’s will. The official opinion of the Roman Catholic Church is that “every possible act of cloning human is intrinsically evil” (NBAC 54). Roman Catholics believe that cloning violates the dignity and sanctity of man’s existence and objectifies children by manipulating and duplicating their lives.
From the ethical point of view, human cloning might harm the physical and psychological welfare of the child. In Dolly’s case, there is an accelerated aging process because the mitochondria from the host gene are as old as the original host. This problem has not been fixed yet and therefore people are afraid that cloning is not safe enough for humans.
Moreover, even if the clone child is created completely health physically, the child may feel a loss of individuality and personal autonomy. Ethicists have concerns for both possible psychological harms to the child and possible degradation of the quality of parenting and family life. Parents, especially the mother, may not love the child as much as if they have been through the natural process of pregnancy to give birth to the child.
And like the Roman Catholics, ethicists feel that cloning may generate possible objectification of cloned children. Since technology allows parents to do cherry-picking with desirable traits of the cloned child, paying to clone children is almost like buying products. Ethicists are concerned that in an attempt to create a more superior offspring, people will give up on traditional reproduction method altogether and use cloning as a general practice to have kids.
There are many possible benefits and hope that comes with the technology of cloning. However, as people from both the ethical and religious fields reflect, there are doubts in the morality of such practice in addition to the immaturity of the technique, which on the other hand raises concerns for safety. Cloning humans may have a prospective future but it still has a long way to go.
posted by Mavis Chao at 11:16 PM
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