Genetic Engineering
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Cloning, Ethics, and What Lies Ahead
“If clones copy off each other in school, is this considered cheating?”(Milgram 76). These types of questions are now asked in the present day due to todays ever advancing technology. In recent years, mankind has made technological breakthroughs in every aspect. From the new super information highway that has metamorphosed and expanded the definition of communication, to the ability of creating fully identical animals in nature, these advancements have both introduced positive and negative effects. Some question the purpose of these discoveries while others adamantly continue to drive towards extending the boundaries of knowledge. Biotechnology has evolved to a point in time giving mankind the ability to create an identical creature using only some lab instruments. Moreover some envision soon that scientists will have the capacity to replicate a human being, genetically identical to another, using the information already gained from genetic research in lab animals, but one must ask, “What purpose will this serve and how will it benefit mankind?”. The knowledge that scientists have gained in animal cloning must solely be used to further advance the field of health and medicine for the betterment of humankind. In no way can these findings be used to research the cloning of humans for this poses a great threat to humanity.
It is critical to first understand the basics behind cloning and what it exactly is before one is able to make any decisions regarding this controversial subject matter. Cloning involves replicating the genetic material from another animal to create a physically and biologically identical clone. When organisms are replicated, the result is a genetically identical copy of the original organism. Within the last decade, scientists from PPL Therapeutics were able to clone the famous sheep, Dolly, who ignited the flame for the many controversial issues to follow. She was specifically “formed by a nuclear transplantation of a parental nucleus into a donor egg; she inherited the DNA outside of her nucleus from the donors egg”(MilGram 5). The scientists removed all genetic material from the egg and then injected the nucleic material from the donor into the egg. After doing so successfully, they harvested this egg in the uterus of a lamb and the rest is history (Kolata 12). There are a couple of misconceptions that first must be cleared. In cloning a mammal, one does produce an exact biological replica but this does not mean that the clone has the same personality, values, and character as the donor. The environment and the infinitely large number of external variables are the factors that form each and every person to be uniquely who they are so theoretically, no two people – even clones are exactly alike in every respect.
The cloning of Dolly raised an endless number of professional issues that humans never before had to answer. The question that caused the most controversy was how far human cloning was from becoming a reality. Never before were people confronted with the reality of possibly having an exact clone of themselves. What would this mean to the future of mankind? As mentioned before, cloning involves the donor, the mother bearing the cloned mammal, and the offspring. What does this mean to the three parties involved? How much danger does this pose to the mother as well as the offspring? Author Robert McKinnell raised an important issue about “criminal misuse of cloning” in that scientist may be able to clone another person without them even knowing(20). Imagine walking down the street one-day and being confronted by another exact duplicate of yourself. Are the people in this world ready to deal with these once fictional ideas that are becoming are reality? Professional issues brought up such as these are no longer far-fetched with todays emerging technologies.
The ability to genetically duplicate mammals also raises a number of legal and policy issues as well. As soon as Dolly was cloned, former President Clinton took action preventing government funds from being used to research human cloning. He appointed a National Bioethics Advisory Commission asking them to report within ninety days “with recommendations on possible federal actions to prevent the abuse of cloning human beings”(Milgram 48). In turn, this led to the ultimate decision of Clinton banning “the use of government funds for human cloning research”(78). Although this a step towards preventing human cloning from being conduced in the United States, this does not in anyway deter people from conducting the same experiments in other countries that have not enforced or restricted human cloning research. What impedes researchers from conducting their research of human cloning in other countries if foreign nations do not take any action to prevent human cloning from being studied? Although the U.S. has taken a step in the right direction towards preventing human cloning from happening, there are numerous other ways around the system that prevent this ban from being effective.
Aside from the professional and legal issues, a number of controversial ethical questions must be considered as well. In analyzing all the research of how Dolly came about, one can see that the process that led to success involved a great deal of trial and error. Of the 277 eggs that were used in the experiment only 1 of those led to success. This leads to the question of, how many human lives it will take before a successful clone is reached. Even more, a controversial question that has been brought up endlessly in the past is “When does human life begin?”(31). Is this from the point of conception, a couple months into the pregnancy, or after the child is born? Critics who are against human cloning argue “cloning generates [an] embryo of full human status”(32). Furthermore, this raises issues of using cloning to enhance certain traits or remove other undesirable ones. Is it ethical to utilize ” genetic engineering to enhance human talents and create to certain specifications?”(20). Taking this stance one would be treating humans as a commodity replicated to exact “orders”. People living on our planet today are confronted with these difficult ethical questions.
It is critical that one considers the consequences resulting from supporting animal cloning for the advancement of medicine. First, there are a number of stakeholders involved: the donor, mother carrying fetus, offspring, Geron Corporation ( formerly PPL Therapeutics), Pharmaceutical companies, agricultural companies, the sick who benefit from this research, and society. Some argue that supporting this research does not respect the rights of animals, and while this is true animal