Word Clone example essay topic

Are Humans Really As Unique As We Think We Are? Have you noticed lately that most of the young people wear Nike shoes and sagging Tommy Hilfiger clothes and like to dress and look like their peers, to fit in with the "in" crowd? Isn't is amazing that all parents try and send their children to the finest schools and make sure they receive the best education possible? Is cloning really any different from the society we are already living in, and do we truly believe in the absolute uniqueness of each individual? (BE 248) According to Caltech biologist James Bonner, humanity will not survive forever and we will eventually lead ourselves to extinction unless we create a new and better species he calls a superhuman. Some of his plan is a little far fetched but some of it makes good sense.

For example after an individual dies, it would be up to society to determine whether or not this person's cells would be allowed to procreate. The human race could be dramatically improved with the best genes possible. So why not lift humanity to a new and better species? Critics may argue on how to decide what the best genes are, but I think most would agree that there are certain genes that we would want our children to have and not to have. For example we would want them to be free of genetic disease if possible and most would want them to have intelligence, longevity, and high energy. (CF 240) And who would be in control of the cells and determining if we want this type person in our society.

For example Adolf Hitler, we Redfearn 2 would not want to recreate him, but society as a whole could make that decision and there would be rules and regulations to follow. For example if someone had a criminal background then of course we would not recreate that person. According to the widely published journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, "the fact is we are already well down the path leading to genetic manipulation of the creepiest sort". (BE 247) Human embryos are bought and sold everyday when there are millions of children in the world just waiting to be adopted and who just want someone to love them. Why not adopt? Why do we feel the need to reproduce our own genome?

We hope to happen again and again which means there is no true absolute uniqueness of each individual. Besides, a clone may have the same genes as another person, but they would develop their own personality based on their environment and experiences. Cloning is just another alternative to reproduction just like in vitro fertilization which requires the retrieval of many cells and can sometimes leads to multiple pregnancies, if it even works at all. Cloning takes a very few cells and should work the very first time with a single pregnancy making it a much more efficient way of reproduction.

When the public hears the word "clone" they automatically jump to conclusions and start ranting and raving and assuming the worst. According to Lee Silver, after the cloning of a sheep in 1997, "ninety percent of Americans polled within the first week after the story broke felt that human cloning should be banned". (LS 221) At that time scientists were certain human cloning was some point way off in the distant future, but still critics were outraged and claimed it was totally inappropriate, morally despicable, and ethically wrong. If there would have been another word used besides clone then the media would probably never have even published the story. Redfearn 3 Many people also argue that cloning is playing God, but in reality don't we play God everyday? We create babies in test tubes and take birth control pills and it is commonly accepted.

Doctors screen pregnant mother's fetuses for birth defects with the option of abortion if it cannot be fixed. Wouldn't it be better to go a step further with cloning and make sure there were none of these birth defects to fix? There are also those that are religious that believe that giving their child immunizations or giving their child antibiotics is wrong, but that does not stop us from doing it. In the United States there is a separation between church and state so religion should not be a factor in cloning. Cloning has many positive implications and before making a rash decision, we should learn more about the pros and cons and not automatically assume the worst just because we heard the word clone. If your child were dying of a terrible genetic disease there is no doubt in my mind that you would be in favor of cloning.

We cannot say it is playing God because doctors do that every day. For people who cannot have children of their own, cloning would be a positive and easy alternative to the reproductive alternatives we rely on today. So lets take a step back and look at all of the possibilities before making a rash decision based just on the word clone.