Essay On Human Cloning

In February of 1997, one of the largest ethical controversies was born with the birth of a lamb. After embryologist Ian Wilmut and his fellow researchers successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly, the possibility of cloning human life arose. Several states have already banned human cloning, but in general it is legal throughout the United States. Should the government allow human cloning? Or should it be done in general? Although the process has several benefits, it is seen as unethical and should be avoided. Cloning is defined as, “the process of producing an organism that is genetically identical to the unit from which it was derived (Dictionary)”. In order to clone an organism, DNA is extracted from a somatic cell and placed in an oocyte …show more content…
This would allow couples that are unable to bare children naturally to still have children that will carry on their genetic lines. If this process is possible, should the government be allowed to tell potential parents that they cannot use this process to reproduce? In this situation, it is difficult to decide whether it is unethical to allow the cloning of an individual, or unethical to not allow a couple to reproduce is there is no other possible way to produce their own …show more content…
The greatest of which would include the potential treatment of these clones. Would they be seen as simply a replacement for a lost relative or a just back-up set of organs? Perhaps they would be seen as inferior to their “original copy.” Through these views, I fear that clones would face unavoidable psychological issues as well as those they were cloned from. Perhaps through continuing research, alternative ways to produce organs and tissues for transplantation can be developed as well as a way for sterile couples to reproduce so that we can avoid the temptation to make human cloning a common