cloning7
As a human race, we have pursued constant technological progression and advancement. Indeed, our claim to the title of "superior race" can be attributed in part to the fervor in which we go about improving our own existence through invention and discovery. Thanks to advances in medicine, we have increased the overall lifespan of men and women. Due to continuous improvements in industrial technology, machines now do virtually everything for us that our ancestors had to do with their own hands. Every day, something is created that makes our lives easier. We are blessed with an intellect higher than that of any other creature on Earth, and we make unabashed use of it. Quite possibly, our ancestors foresaw the day when our intellectual capacity would lead us in a direction that we would be ill prepared to follow. That day has arrived with the development of cloning. The cloning of sheep, cows, frogs, and other animals has already been successfully completed and human cloning is now a realistic possibility, the only constraints being the ethical and moral issues associated with reproducing a perfect copy of another human being. In "The Paradox of Cloning", the author, James Q. Wilson, argues the benefits of cloning and assert
s "the gains will turn out to exceed the risks". Wilson is wrong in his assumption. While I concede that cloning technology offers some exciting benefits, total human cloning also carries frightening, worldwide ramifications. While cloning is still in the infancy stage, we, as a worldwide society, should collectively reject any efforts to further technology in the area of human cloning. Suppose that human cloning is permitted and deemed legal. Contrary to Wilson's beliefs, it would be a very short time before we possess the scientific knowledge necessary to successfully clone a human. In fact, scientists at Advanced Cell Technology have already cloned a human embryo by injecting genetic material into a cow egg. The embryo was allowed to live for 12 days before it was destroyed, primarily to pre-empt the inevitable ethical outcry (Sung 1). An embryo, it seems, can not be considered human until it attaches itself to the wall of the womb, which occurs at about 14 days. In allowing the progression of cloning, we must consider one basic issue. How do we handle the failures and mistakes that occur during the early experimental stages? Many eggs were destroyed at various stages of development before scientists were able to create Dolly the sheep, the first successfully cloned animal (Bailey). What happens to the human embryos that live to be a fully developed fetus before scientist discover a "flaw" in their DNA? Do we discard these babies and continue on in the name of science? And how do we handle young children clones that start to show signs of a weakened immune system? Do we murder these children and call them an experimental loss or do we build orphanages to house the early misfit clones? Who wants to explain to these kids that they simply will never be good enough because it just isn't in their genes? Keep in mind we're not talking about a few children here and there. Hundreds of biotechnology firms worldwide are eager to enter the realm of cloning research, each with virtually unlimited finances. All of these companies will likely endure hundreds of failed attempts before one successful clone is created. Complicating matters, there will be a race between these firms to be the first company to successfully clone a human being. This environment will not lend itself to patient, measured advances but instead to countless mistakes due to the frenzied pace of the experimental research. As a society, we should not fool ourselves into believing that we will be the benefactors of cloning without first destroying thousands of lives in the process. According to a Time/CNN poll, most people echo this sentiment. In the poll, an overwhelming 89 percent of Americans feel that it is "morally unacceptable" to clone humans (Sung). With roughly 9 out of 10 people in opposition, it appears that most people see the nightmarish possibilities of human cloning as a reality waiting to happen.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2162
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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