Therapeutic Cloning Although not a very popular topic, the issue of cloning human body parts is very relevant in today’s technological world. In 1996, Dr Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute was able to successfully clone a sheep named Dolly. Later, in 1998, Japanese scientists were able to clone mice. By the end of the year 2000, thousands of animals were successfully cloned. In 2001, a human embryo was cloned successfully to a 32 cell stage, before scientists terminated it. Had this experiment continued, a child might have been born with identical DNA to it’s parent. We are capable of cloning, the technology is there, but whether we should exercise this technique on humans or not is an ethical question that has haunted progressive thinkers
…show more content…
However there are some types of people called Literalists, who take everything to be written in the bible as literally accurate, including facts like Eve and Adam were the first humans, God actually created earth in seven days, and other improbabilities. These people frequently respond to Therapeutic Cloning in ways that make artificial production of parts seem like stepping into ‘forbidden territory’. God is the only one who creates life, according to literalists. In my studies, many of the opposing arguments were written by literalists, and I feel compelled to rebut their arguments. Therapeutic cloning is, in a literal sense, creating embryos and destroying them. So yes, scientists are extinguishing life, but only to save countless other lives. This is relatable to the production of insulin. Humans use gene therapy and extracted cells to mass produce insulin for diabetes patients. Insulin is not considered to be immoral, even though, yes, literally, life is being destroyed. Another great example is IVF, or vitro fertilisation. This is the process of taking eggs from a woman, and mixing it with sperm in a petri dish, then inserting it back into the woman’s stomach. Does this process sound familiar? It very closely resembles the process of Therapeutic cloning. It’s almost identical. In IVF, several eggs are taken and swirled in a petri dish. Although many are fertilized (creating an embryo), Only one is used, and the rest are discarded, thus killing embryos (American Pregnancy). Why has this been used thousands of times since the 70’s, and is completely acceptable, when therapeutic cloning, which can literally save millions, is considered morally unjustified? What law or religious text says that one combination of genetic material in a flask is okay, when another is not? Many are
However there are some types of people called Literalists, who take everything to be written in the bible as literally accurate, including facts like Eve and Adam were the first humans, God actually created earth in seven days, and other improbabilities. These people frequently respond to Therapeutic Cloning in ways that make artificial production of parts seem like stepping into ‘forbidden territory’. God is the only one who creates life, according to literalists. In my studies, many of the opposing arguments were written by literalists, and I feel compelled to rebut their arguments. Therapeutic cloning is, in a literal sense, creating embryos and destroying them. So yes, scientists are extinguishing life, but only to save countless other lives. This is relatable to the production of insulin. Humans use gene therapy and extracted cells to mass produce insulin for diabetes patients. Insulin is not considered to be immoral, even though, yes, literally, life is being destroyed. Another great example is IVF, or vitro fertilisation. This is the process of taking eggs from a woman, and mixing it with sperm in a petri dish, then inserting it back into the woman’s stomach. Does this process sound familiar? It very closely resembles the process of Therapeutic cloning. It’s almost identical. In IVF, several eggs are taken and swirled in a petri dish. Although many are fertilized (creating an embryo), Only one is used, and the rest are discarded, thus killing embryos (American Pregnancy). Why has this been used thousands of times since the 70’s, and is completely acceptable, when therapeutic cloning, which can literally save millions, is considered morally unjustified? What law or religious text says that one combination of genetic material in a flask is okay, when another is not? Many are