Alex Hernandez

Mr. Prinsloo

IT Class

05/05/2012

The Ethics of Human Cloning

The science of genetic cloning is not a new, Asimov-like fantasy which will take

place in a distant future, but one that has remained in the realms of obscurity due to

ethical and moral debates. Most of the advancements in this field of biotechnology

occurred in the 1990s, with the birth of Dolly the Sheep, and the first human embryos

cloned in 2001, but have remained in the dark after. Cloning can be done by three

techniques,” twinning”, “Rosalin”, and “Honolulu”, with the latter being the most

efficient. Twinning is the splitting of the cell from the embryo, thus creating two

organisms. The Rosalin Method is the transfer of DNA from the nucleus to an

unfertilized oocyte, although this method was the technique used to make Dolly, it is

impractical as it requires three organisms to produce the clone. The Honolulu technique

has higher success rates than the Rosalin Method as the cells were not cultured outside

the organism.

Cloning is usually split into Therapeutic Cloning, and Reproductive Cloning.

Therapeutic Cloning involves the transfer of a donor´s nucleus to a cell embryo.

Therapeutic Cloning or Somatic Cell Nucleus Transfer is used as an alternative to the

gathering of stem cells from fetuses. Therapeutic Cloning remains legal in countries

such as the U.S, but contradicting policies prevent for funding to be used in the research

of Therapeutic Cloning. Reproductive cloning is the science of creating an identical

organism, for example making a baby clone. Reproductive Cloning in animals is

permitted, and laws in the U.S permit for food made of cloned animals to not require a

label, as it is cloned food is deemed identical as that of the original organism.

Reproductive Cloning in humans is banned, as can be seen by the destruction of an

embryo made of a man´s leg, and a cow´s egg 12 days after its creation in 1998 by ACT

(Advanced Cell Technologies).

Just like in most countries the Church and State are separate, Religion should be

taken from science. The main reasons which Reproductive and Therapeutic Cloning

remain in so much controversy are because of the believe that if this field of Science is

explored it will be like “Playing God”. But is treating Parkinson´s Disease playing God

or saving someone from a neurodegenerative disease? Scientists in this field of

Biotechnology are flocking to California, and asian countries such as India or

Singapore, who not only approve of these scientific advances, but encourage them

through monetary support. If we want to prevent a “Brain Flow” like one Germany

experienced in the 40s, we must let our faith aside for the common good.

Works Cited

http://www.philforhumanity.com/Human_Cloning.html

http://www.humancloning.org/essays/dani.htm

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f00/web1/tamang.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/science/20tier.html?pagewanted=all

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/371378.stm

http://www.religioustolerance.org/cloning.htm

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-science/genetics-

molecular-medicine/related-policy-topics/stem-cell-research/human-cloning.page

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