Essay on Human Cloning is not a Moral Issue - 985 Words

Human Cloning is not a Moral Issue There has been an onslaught of protests and people lobbying for a ban on human cloning ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned by Dr. Wilmut and his colleagues. Not only has the media exploited the ethics of the issue and scared the public with images of Frankenstein and evil scientists, but many worldwide authorities such as President Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac of France, and Prime Minister John Major of Great Britain have all spoken out publicly against human cloning and have proposed legislation and committees to regulate and/or ban it. Religious leaders and the Pope have also talked about human clonings dangers of Playing God and the loss of uniqueness that an individual would suffer if he†¦show more content†¦(Madigan, 6) The moral issues in cloning are similar to past issues faced by society such as nuclear energy, recombinant DNA, and computer encryption. There have always been religious and moral objections to new technology and change merely because they are different and because we are creatures of habit. As the International Academy of Humanism put it, A view of human nature rooted in humanitys mythical past ought not to be our primary criterion for making moral decisions about cloning. (Madigan, 3) A second argument against human cloning is that the DNA donor and the cloned recipient will have a loss of uniqueness and individuality. Reverend Moraczewski once again asserts that cloning improperly robs people of their uniqueness. (Madigan, 8) But arent identical twins autonomous and unique individuals? Proponents of the uniqueness objection fail to realize that natural-born twins possess identical genes, just as a donor and its clone would have. In fact, clones of humans would differ more than identical twins, given the age difference of the donor and the clone, and therefore the different environments in which each matures. People are, as a whole, more than the sum of their parts. While genes lay the foundation, people are a product of their feelings, experiences, and relationships. Genes are only the groundwork of who people are, they do notShow MoreRelated Animal and Human Cloning: Moral, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues2517 Words   |  11 PagesAnimal and Human Cloning: Moral , Ethical, and Regulatory Issues Dolly, woolly, innocent, and sweet, strongly contrasts with the severity of the issues that she has raised. Ever since the news surfaced that Dr. Ian Wilmut had succeeded in cloning a sheep, people around the world have been participating in a frenzied debate over the morality of cloning animals, and more importantly human beings. The cloning of animals and humans could help the world in unprecedented ways, but could also give riseRead MoreCloning Essays1271 Words   |  6 PagesCloning The most significant problem our world has with newfound controversies is that most people take one side on the issue before they become educated on the topic at hand. This is the same problem that I see with the controversial issue of cloning. Whether one argues for or against the cloning of humans or animals, most people leave out the ethics and morals behind the issue. People see movies like Multiplicity, starring Michael Keaton (a movie in which Michael Keaton clones himselfRead MoreGenetic Engineering : Medical Perfection Or Playing God1280 Words   |  6 PagesThesis Statement â€Å"Genetic engineering differs from cloning in key ways. Whereas cloning produces genetically exact copies of organisms, genetic engineering refers to processes in which scientists manipulate genes to create purposefully different versions of organisms—and, in some cases, entirely new living things†, duplication of genetic cells is known as human cloning. Development of genetic engineering biotechnologies undermines the natural autonomy of life. Does genetic engineering interfereRead MoreThe Consequences Of Cloning In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley1470 Words   |  6 PagesThe invention of cloning, both a blessing and a curse, can possibly enable humanity to reach eternal life. An invention is the creation of a device developed after a study or an experiment, in the hopes of benefiting society. The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about an inventor, Victor Frankenstein, who creates life that he later rejects. His invention results in consequences for both himse lf and his creation. Both cloning and the creation of the monster was made to benefit and advance society’sRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Cloning872 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many arguments against cloning. Leon R. Kass bases his argument on repugnance in his article The Wisdom of Repugnance. He is a well-known physician, educator and scientist. Kass perceives cloning as offensive, grotesque revolting, repulsive and wrong. To establish his argument he states, â€Å"Most people recoil from the prospect of mass production or human being, with large clones of look-alikes, compromised in their individuality.†1 His rationale is cloning is unnatural, because it is asexualRead More Cloning More Ethically Acceptable than Global Warming Essays843 Words   |  4 Pages Cloning More Ethically Acceptable than Global Warming nbsp; One day soon, human clones will walk among us. Does the thought send a shiver up your spine? How about the notion of eating french fries from a potato engineered with jellyfish genes to make its leaves bioluminescent? We should consider our responses to both issues now, before reality comes knocking at the door. Several groups have announced intentions to clone humans, and the bioluminescence gene has already been successfully incorporatedRead More Is Human Cloning Another Frankenstein? Essay1272 Words   |  6 Pages Is Human Cloning Another Frankenstein? nbsp; The creation of life by unnatural method is a question that Mary Shelleys Frankenstein addresses. Through the events that result from Victors attempt to bestow life to the inanimate, Shelley concludes that it is inappropriate for man to play god. With the advent of the science of creation, cloning, scientists now face the same problem that Shelley raised years ago. The applications of such research are numerous, all varying in severity. In whatRead MoreThe Recreation Of Life956 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent cases of cloning, and focuses on the former in his ethical discussion of cloning humans. The first case of cloning discussed is the cloning of a human to be used as an organ bank, just in case the donor is in need of the cloned individual’s body parts, tissues, or organs. However, the individual may not even be considered so because their brain will have been manipulated to eliminate any capacity for consciousness or sense of being, practically turning the individual into a human incubator housingRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill s Philosophy On The Morality And Ethical Nature Of The Subject1507 Words   |  7 Pagessubject. Cloning can be viewed a few different ways based on the teachings in philosophy one follows. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a branch of philosophy, which bases its understanding of right action on consequences. More precisely, an act is considered right if it creates the most happiness (pleasure), and the least pain, for the greatest number of people affected by that action. In this way, utilitarianism is sometimes called a moral calculus. A utilitarian approach to cloning would lookRead MoreHuman Cloning Debate: The Fate of Frankenstein1671 Words   |  7 Pagesrestricted moral boundaries to those of the Victorians, likely see Victors main crime within the novel more the perverse way in which the creation is carried out and more importantly Victors failure to nurture the offspring; his crime is against the traditional framework of the family (Feldman and Scott-Kilvert, 1987). Position Statement- At the very essence of the Frankenstein myth is the idea that humans have the technology and wisdom to create or duplicate life. This idea, cloning, is neither