Check out the three links on this website: arguments for and against cloning, as well as some really interesting and provoking statements about the ethics of cloning, opinions about banning cloning, etc.
This website offers links to three pages: one that outlines some of the common arguments in favor of cloning, one that lists some arguments against cloning, and one that shares the statements/opinions of people and organizations in regard to their stances on cloning.
Clearly, cloning is an extremely controversial technology. Fear plays a large role in this controversy, but sound scientific arguments are present on both sides of the debate. This website may help the average person come to an informed personal opinion on the topic of cloning.
What I found to be the most interesting part of this website is the page with several quotations about cloning:
1. Libertarian Party: Steve Dasch, chairman- "Politicians should not have veto power over the creation of new life - especially human life...That’s why the Libertarian Party supports reproductive freedom of choice for Americans-whether they choose to reproduce using the traditional method, or artificial insemination, or in-vitro fertilization, or cloning... if cloning research is banned, millions of people could suffer." Can cloning really be compared to artificial insemination of in-vitro fertilization? Is it just as legitimate a form of reproduction as any other? Or do we have to take into consideration the fact that these other methods have been rather perfected (or at least significantly more developed) and have fairly high success rates, and an acceptable cost/benefit ration, while cloning is still hugely inefficient? When we look at Dolly, 277 reconstructed embryos resulted in 1 birth; is that even close to an acceptable numbers game to subject a human to? Yes, maybe we want people to have reproductive rights. But who are the millions of people who will "suffer" if cloning is banned, and what will this "suffering" entail?
2. Foundation of Economic Trends: Jeremy Rifkin, president- Proposing a world-wide ban on cloning, he says it should carry a penalty "on par with rape, child abuse, and murder."
Why is cloning anything like rape or child abuse or murder? What do these things have in common? Do you agree that these are the appropriate punishments?
3. Church of England Board of Social Responsibility: Mary Seller- "The antics of a few cranks and Hitler types" should not impede cloning research. "Cloning. like all science, must be used responsibly. Cloning humans is not desirable. But cloning sheep has its uses."
How do we stop people from abusing the technology of cloning? Where do we draw the line between someone conducting useful research, and someone who is a "Hitler type"? I
Why is cloning anything like rape or child abuse or murder? What do these things have in common? Do you agree that these are the appropriate punishments?
3. Church of England Board of Social Responsibility: Mary Seller- "The antics of a few cranks and Hitler types" should not impede cloning research. "Cloning. like all science, must be used responsibly. Cloning humans is not desirable. But cloning sheep has its uses."
How do we stop people from abusing the technology of cloning? Where do we draw the line between someone conducting useful research, and someone who is a "Hitler type"? I
agree that cloning needs to be used responsibly. It could potentially be very dangerous. So how do we keep knowledge out of the wrong people's hands? Is cloning technology going to have to be guarded like the knowledge needed to make an atomic bomb? Can we even make that comparison? Also, we have to consider what differences there actually are between cloning humans and cloning animals. Do we as humans have different rights to protect than animals such as sheep do? Why is it okay for us to manipulate sheep in this way? And why can we alter the genes of sheep, but we cannot use pigs to produce transplantable organs? Even if we draw the line between humans and animals, where is that seemingly arbitrary line drawn within cloning in animals?
4. Clones Rights United Front: Randolfe Wicker, founder- "We’re fighting for research, and we’re defending people’s reproductive rights... I realize my clone would be my identical twin, and my identical twin has a right to be born."
This seems to be a matter of controversy over definitions. Is a clone really the same thing as an identical twin? Do we not have to take into consideration the matter of shortened telomeres, and the fact that clones are generally created from much older cells? We still do not fully understand how adult cells are reprogrammed to become stem cells again, and as long as we don't have this knowledge can we really equate a clone with a twin?
There are no easy answers to any of these questions. Perhaps this is one of the big reasons that the debate over cloning remains so heated. There is no clear black or white--everything seems to be a shade of gray, and individuals are left to ponder the questions and come up with their own opinions. This may be one of the biggest obstacles to the advancement of using cloning technologies in medicine. And it may also mean that the government (or federal agencies) will need to step in, in order to make one decision.
C. Heard
4. Clones Rights United Front: Randolfe Wicker, founder- "We’re fighting for research, and we’re defending people’s reproductive rights... I realize my clone would be my identical twin, and my identical twin has a right to be born."
This seems to be a matter of controversy over definitions. Is a clone really the same thing as an identical twin? Do we not have to take into consideration the matter of shortened telomeres, and the fact that clones are generally created from much older cells? We still do not fully understand how adult cells are reprogrammed to become stem cells again, and as long as we don't have this knowledge can we really equate a clone with a twin?There are no easy answers to any of these questions. Perhaps this is one of the big reasons that the debate over cloning remains so heated. There is no clear black or white--everything seems to be a shade of gray, and individuals are left to ponder the questions and come up with their own opinions. This may be one of the biggest obstacles to the advancement of using cloning technologies in medicine. And it may also mean that the government (or federal agencies) will need to step in, in order to make one decision.
C. Heard
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