Ethical Concerns with CloningThere are many ethical questions and debates when it comes to cloning. Many have been raised by religious groups. They strongly believe that the creation of life should not be an artificial lab process. Many argue that cloning is justifiable in how it can open some doors in gene therapy and stem cell research. However, cloning for the sole purpose of researching stem cells is not justifiable when it comes down to the embryonic stem cells and the destruction of embryos of humans and animals. Also, there is some controversy about whether or not it is ethical to clone animals to increase meat production ("Cloning").
Many Risks of Cloning"More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. More than 100 SCNT procedures could be required to produce one viable clone." (Bownas). There are many things that could go wrong in a cloning process. Clone embryos don't often make it to the time when they are supposed to be born, and if they are born at all, they have a very weak immune system and are more susceptible to disease and illness. Also, they can be much larger than they are supposed to be after birth (called "Large Offspring Syndrome (LOS)"). This means that their organs are larger, so they could face respiratory, circulatory problems, along with many other organ system issues ("WHAT"). Even if the clone is born without LOS, they often end up being affected by kidney and brain malfunctions, and a weakened immune system. As if that isn't enough, there is history of clones dying mysteriously, with no known cause of death that can be discovered even through an autopsy.
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Cloning for Selfish PurposesMany people have the idea to clone livestock (such as cattle, pigs, or chickens) so that food production is increased. On the surface, there isn't much of a problem with cloning a cow to create more meat and milk resources. However, when you look back at all of the risks and failures and possible side-effects of cloning, it doesn't seem safe. No one can be sure that any of the potential risks that are associated with cloning won't be transmitted though ingested products of cloned animals ("Cloning").
Not Ethical To Begin Human CloningFirst of all, the success rate of animal cloning is so low (1 or 2 viable offspring out of every 100 trials), and about 30% of the animals that survive birth are affected with something called "large-offspring syndrome" (LOS), or other debilitating conditions. When put into perspective, that would mean that 98 or 99 of every 100 human embryo clones would die before being born, and 30% of the ones that did make it would die from LOS or any of the other conditions that were described in the previous section on risks of cloning. The destruction of human embryos, especially in such large amounts, is not in any way justified by science and cloning. Since there are so many complications and risks, and such low success rates, it is neither ethical nor is it promising to even begin cloning humans (Bownas). The number of risks highly overpower the small number of "Pros" that are associated with cloning.
We Don't Know What Cloning Could Give Rise ToCloning humans could open many doors. Most of those doors, many would argue, should stay closed. Cloning is playing with nature to the extreme. There's a reason that we are all so specifically different. Messing with the natural order of things and twisting them when we don't have such a great lack of understanding is a very dangerous and extremely risky (Bownas). We have more questions than answers. What social challenges could a cloned human being face? do the benefits of human cloning outweigh the loss of human dignity? Should cloning research be stopped or regulated ("WHAT")?
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