Human Clone example essay topic

Ever since the cloning of the first adult mammal, Dolly the sheep, the idea of cloning has become a major issue and the subject of many debates. Many people are afraid of the idea of cloning simply because it is a new and misunderstood concept. However, cloning is an incredible scientific breakthrough. The practice of cloning can be used to benefit society and should therefore be legalized. Some people have the belief that a clone would not be the same as any other person, although scientists tell us otherwise. A clone would be a normal human, made from and having the same genes as the person being cloned.

But each clone would not be exactly the same as the original person because the clones will not have the same environment or experiences as the person from which they were cloned. A clone can be looked at as a younger identical twin with a personality and life of its own. In actuality, the concept of cloning is not much different from procedures commonly performed today such as in vitro fertilization, where egg fertilization takes place in a lab and is then inserted into the uterus. In vitro fertilization normally requires many cells and may take several attempts to succeed, if it does at all. Also, in vitro fertilization can result in multiple pregnancies. Cloning is just another alternative to reproduction, and unlike in vitro fertilization, cloning takes relatively few cells (as few as one) and should work the first time resulting in a single pregnancy, making it a more efficient method of reproduction.

Many people have argued against cloning because they think that it is a way of playing God. But in reality, doctors "play God" every day by giving vaccinations and prescribing medication. It is commonly known and accepted that we create babies in test tubes and take birth control pills to prevent them, so why not clone them too? Today, many fetuses are screened early in pregnancies for genetic or chromosome-related abnormalities, with the option of abortion for those found with defects. Isn't this just another way of "playing God" by determining whether a fetus will live based on whether or not it has a defect?

Why not take an extra step and instead of eliminating the baby, assure that there will be no defect in the first place? This religious aspect of the argument on cloning seems to be growing increasingly popular. But since not everyone believes in a god, why should religion be considered in making decisions based on morality? Religion plays a huge part in most people's opinion of what is moral, yet the beliefs of these people should not deprive others of the benefit of cloning. There are people who believe that taking antibiotics or receiving blood transfusions is wrong and against God's will, but this does not stop the rest of the world (which includes others who believe in God) from receiving the benefits from them. Cloning is another tool that can be used to our advantage by improving the health of our society, yet we cannot get past the false belief that "only God should be able to create or destroy human life".

Do we not see hundreds of people dying every day, not by God's will, but by the will of fellow humans? And when life is created in test tubes, I doubt God has a part in it. In the United States, there is supposed to be a separation of church and state. Anything having to do with God should play no part in law making. Religion and science are two different states of knowledge; science is based on observation and experimentation, while religion is based on faith and occurrences that are not verifiable.

Simply put, making a law based on religious belief goes against our Constitution. Furthermore, because a human clone is (and should be) thought of as a regular human being, he or she is entitled to the same basic rights as all of us. (There should not be the cloning of entire humans for harvesting a few parts, as this goes against their rights and treats them as less human.) But with new technology, scientists are discovering ways to clone single organs and other tissue such as nerve endings without having to clone an entire person. These organs can be used for transplants, and since doctors can use each person's DNA to create the organ, it is anticipated that no type of problems (such as immune rejection) would result.

There is a great shortage of organs needed for transplants, and further research in this area could eliminate this shortage. What is certain, however, is that this elimination may never come about if there are laws prohibiting cloning. With continued research in cloning, techniques for germ-line engineering will be discovered. With germ-line engineering, defective genes could be wiped out of children and their offspring, virtually eliminating many inherited diseases. Some scientists have said that this discovery could lead to the engineering of a people completely resistant to other diseases like AIDS and cancer, making society happier and healthier.

This same concept might be able to be used to make smarter and stronger babies. Currently, animals such as cattle and sheep that have been genetically engineered to maximize desirable traits are already being cloned. Research is being done on the cloning of endangered species and how to prolong each species' existence. I have also heard stories of a wealthy couple giving over two million dollars to Texas A&M University to clone their dog. What all of these actions say is that, whether the government bans it or not, it is inevitable that human cloning will take place next. Scientists are speculating that the first human cloning will take place in about seven to ten years.

But however you look at it, this amazing discovery has been made and curious scientists are not just going to leave it alone. The decision on whether or not your own DNA is replicated is an issue that is private and should be left up to you, not the government. Since human cloning is bound to occur, the government should accept it, regulate it, and see to it that it is used to benefit the people of this country.