Advantages of Cloning in Humans and Animals Essay -- Biology Medical B

Advantages of Cloning in Humans and Animals Cloning has existed for ages as a form of reproduction in nature. Now humans have harnessed the power to clone at will. This evokes an argument between those that support and those that do not support cloning. Among the population, there are fewer supporters than opponents. It might just be a gut reaction of humans to fear and suspect new technology, or it could be a well-founded fear. In the animal world, cloning could be used to save endangered species and increase production of livestock. In time, this relatively new technology may become a powerful and useful tool This study examines the many supporting arguments for cloning, including objectives, among them starting families, organ transplants, and medical research. The creation of Dolly revolutionized the scientific world and sparked a flaming debate of what might one day become reality. Humans now had the power to intentionally create what is essentially a copy of another organism. One day humans might also be able to create a copy of other humans as well. The question that loomed over our heads since then is whether human cloning is ethical. Furthermore, would the cloning of larger, more complex animals such as livestock and pets be ethical? Supporters of this cutting edge technology often found, and still find themselves outnumbered by those who strongly oppose cloning. The minority is by no means wrong; their arguments are just as well grounded as their opponents’, sometimes better. Likewise, the other side is also well reasoned. Cloning has many assets, despite obvious faults. It is prudent to investigate the affirmative arguments for cloning rather than just looking at faults. Cloning would be beneficial to help start fa... ... may abuse cloning; they must prove that the process of cloning itself is immoral. For reasons stated above, cloning does not appear morally wrong: clones occur naturally, and there are many benefits to cloning. (Worthy) At the moment, the success rate of cloning is low, and the risk of potential harm to a cloned fetus is too high for comfort. As the technology continues to progress, cloning advocates may ultimately rejoice as human cloning ceases to be science fiction. Advantages of Cloning 6 References Emig, R., et al. (1998, April). Practical Uses of Human Cloning. Human Cloning. July 27, 2005: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/home.html McGee, G., et al. (2000). The Human Cloning Debate. Berkeley: Berkeley Hills Books. Worthy, F. The Cloning Debate. Christis. July 28, 2005: http://www.christis.org.uk/archive/issue70/cloning.php