The Ethicality Of Therapeutic Cloning

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One of the hottest topics to rock the scientific world as of late is the issue of cloning. Cloning, as polarizing and charged as it may seem is a rather convoluted issue. Due to the fact that the topic has so many facets, it is easy to get caught up in the frenzy of rampantly slung buzz words. Before attempting to dissect the aforementioned issues, one must take a moment out to fully understand the issue at hand. Fundamentally, for purposes of biological experimentation, pieces of the DNA code can be cloned, or reproduced. From the most basic organisms such as bacteria and plants, to more complex organisms such as animals and human beings have the possibility of being replicated. To date, all of the above have been successfully cloned to completion…show more content…
Therapeutic cloning refers to harvesting cells from a developing embryo which has the potential of becoming any cell in the human body for the purpose of aiding people who are currently ill. The issue at hand is that there is no intent of allowing the embryo to mature fully, in essence ending a potential life which is where the controversy arises. Reproductive cloning refers to allowing the embryo with identical genetic material as the donor to mature fully, begetting the issue of organ harvesting. Are the risks of cloning outweighed by the benefits? That is exactly the question Charles Krauthammer, a columnist for the Washington Post, attempted to answer in his article “Of Headless Mice…and Men.” Krauthammer states that human cloning should be banned so as to prevent genetic monstrosities as exemplified by cloned headless tadpoles and mice. Mr. Krauthammer’s points are convincing, however the fallacies he included weaken his…show more content…
We are constantly bombarded with advertisements geared towards helping us enhance or maintain our appearance. Youth it seems is a highly sought after commodity, which Krauthammer implies may be ascertained indefinitely with the aid of “headless humans.” Krauthammer states “…if you create a headless clone of just your body, you have created a ready source of replacement parts to keep you-your consciousness-going indefinitely.” Creating clones would seemingly be the key to immortality, the metaphoric fountain of youth. If cloning were allowed to progress to an extent where replicas were made with organs ready for harvest, technically one could be immortal. Every time one organ fails, just transplant one from your “headless clone.” This theory goes against the grain of nature. Creatures which are born must eventually die. With our ecosystem so delicately balanced as it is with other panoramic issues afoot such as global warming as is, it would be inconceivably disastrous to contemplate the effect of everlasting human beings would have on our

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