The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley addresses the quickly advancing science and technology of the world. Dr. Frankenstein is a scientist who creates things before thinking about the consequences of his creations. On July 5th, 1996, Dolly the sheep, was the first mammal to be reproductively cloned. As science and technology continue to advance everyday, we are faced with the ability to reproductively clone humans. The question is: Is it ethical? Based on animal research, cloning humans would not be ethical because of health risks, and the emotional and social impact of the cloned child.
Reproductive cloning is the most common cloning seen today. What is reproductive cloning? “Reproductive cloning produces a duplicate of an existing …show more content…
Cloning a child would be unethical for the simple reason being the clone is its own person. “The main point to keep in mind is that a cloned human being would not be a mere replicant. It would be a unique person”(Dudley 40). Many people do not understand that a clone will not be exactly like the person they wanted to clone personality wise and they will make their own decisions. This would then add pressure to the child making them feel like they aren’t a “real” kid, or make them feel like they have to live to be like someone else. In some circumstances, people argue that if they would happen the lose a child, cloning their child would be the next best thing. “ Many experts contacted by The Observer last week backed Wilmut 's fears. 'I think the problem is very, very scary, ' said Dr Linda Blair, a psychologist based at Bath University. 'In particular, the issue of using cloning techniques in a misguided attempt to return a dead child to life is extremely worrying. '”(McKie). This example shows that cloning a child after a dead sibling or family member just becomes unethical because the child is put in a place that they should have to be in. Cloning any child would put too much stress on them, especially if the cloned child felt like they had to live up to someone. “A child only shares 50 per cent of its genes
Reproductive cloning is the most common cloning seen today. What is reproductive cloning? “Reproductive cloning produces a duplicate of an existing …show more content…
Cloning a child would be unethical for the simple reason being the clone is its own person. “The main point to keep in mind is that a cloned human being would not be a mere replicant. It would be a unique person”(Dudley 40). Many people do not understand that a clone will not be exactly like the person they wanted to clone personality wise and they will make their own decisions. This would then add pressure to the child making them feel like they aren’t a “real” kid, or make them feel like they have to live to be like someone else. In some circumstances, people argue that if they would happen the lose a child, cloning their child would be the next best thing. “ Many experts contacted by The Observer last week backed Wilmut 's fears. 'I think the problem is very, very scary, ' said Dr Linda Blair, a psychologist based at Bath University. 'In particular, the issue of using cloning techniques in a misguided attempt to return a dead child to life is extremely worrying. '”(McKie). This example shows that cloning a child after a dead sibling or family member just becomes unethical because the child is put in a place that they should have to be in. Cloning any child would put too much stress on them, especially if the cloned child felt like they had to live up to someone. “A child only shares 50 per cent of its genes