Pros and Cons of Cloning
I found this paper: "The Pros and Cons of Cloning" by Nisha Agarwal, to be very helpful and it truly described the pros and cons in ethical and logistical terms of cloning. It defines reproductive and research cloning, which are the 2 types of cloning and gives pros and cons of each. Reproductive is making a new embryo and placing it in a surrogate mother to grow and later be delivered. Which obviously to many people is a problem because they don't want creation of the same exact human being which they believe is god's job. Which brings me to wonder: Is it more of an ethical issue in people's minds or a logistical one? The problem with reproductive cloning is the survival rate of mother and clone/baby is very low. Most the clones don't make it to birth and the few live births there was created many complications and often death for the mothers. So if reproductive cloning is so harmful, should we ban it and allow research cloning? Research cloning is created by stem cell research which literally uses tissue to stem out and create a specific body part. This is the ideal type in which we can save countless lives (as I said in my last post) by creating an exact replica of a body part so the body cannot deny it and it functions perfectly. After reading this article it makes me wonder if there are any bad effects of research cloning it seems to be quite ideal...
Another site I found talked about mainly reproductive cloning. This article about Dr. Zavos in The Independent, covers the works of Panayiotis Zavos who is a fertility doctor has claimed to have created 14 clones of humans and has put 11 of those into surrogate mothers, in 2009.
Dr. Zavos (at left) said none of the babies have successfully been born, but he has reached a level that no doctor or scientist has ever been able to. I wonder if Zavos got this far how long will it be until we are able to actually clone a human? This confuses me because in "The Pros and Cons of Cloning" by Nisha Agarwal, it explains how reproductive cloning is harmful to the mother and baby. So it makes me wonder: is reproductive cloning truly harmful for the surrogate mother and child? Zavos had a lab in the Middle East where cloning is not banned and had private clientele who gave money in order to become parents or get back the ones they had lost. In the article it also talks about one of Zavos' clients that wanted their 10 year old daughter Cady (at right) back who had died in a car crash. This is very controversial because it brings up the question of should we allow the ability to clone a person who has died? Also what is the line between bringing back the dead and living forever? The controversy over his "taboo" act caused a lot of rustle in the minds of many people but there is no doubt that his creations are historical and are huge advancements in cloning and the science of it.
Comparing these two sources it brings up the question is cloning truly as harmful as everyone makes it out to be? If Zavos was able to achieve all that he did without truly harming anyone, then why should we not pursue this? Also, in my next blog I will hope to do more research on stem cell research cloning and find more information on the pros and cons of it.
That is interesting about the Zavos case. I admit that I didn't even know human cloning had been attempted in this way. I still thought it was only an idea/theory, and that only animals (e.g. Dolly the sheep) had been cloned. How recent was this work by Zavos? What kind of doctor was he?
ReplyDeleteI am curious what led you to these particular sources. In other words, some narrative elements in your blog--to introduce the sources and explain your thinking/researching process--would be helpful. This is a writing project where your 1st person voice ("I" voice) is encouraged!
I commend you for choosing such a controversial topic to explore! It is always difficult to both formulate your own opinions, and discuss those with others, when dealing with issues that have such ethical matters involved.
ReplyDeleteBeing as complicated a subject as it is, I think that it is difficult for most people to truly understand all of the factors involved (ethics, practices, applications). Like Allison, I was also unaware of the Zavos case. I'm looking forward to seeing where your blog takes you.
Hello,
DeleteInteresting topic but not one I think much about. I am all for cloning body parts but at this point I do not see any evidence that would suggest cloning an entire human has any true benefits. However, If Dr. Zavos has been this successful with limited funding then I image that if some big time money was put into research it would not take long for them to figure out. Are any major US companies doing any kind of research at any level on this? Who are the major players in human cloning?
I would love to know how far along they are on growing human organs? It is crazy to think in the future we may have a stockpile of extra parts ready to go if we need them. I think when this has been successfully figured out we will see the death rate go down considerably. I do not think that this will extend life all that much as total body replacement seems a little too extreme.
I think once you start looking at the ethics of this issue and who opposes it you will see a strong connection to religion. I think you could probably write a whole paper on religion and cloning.
Good luck with your research and hopefully you find out that we can start ordering spare body parts in the near future.
Sincerely,
Jason
Great topic. I think this is a great subject. I am going to school for nursing and see in my biology and psychology class this is a topic which is brought up. This is going to be a great subject to get personal, religious and scientific views on. I know after my classes I have taken how much this could help us we were to become sick or something but the scary thing is the thought of the who we are hurting in the process. What do we do with the clone after we get what we need? I can't wait to see the information your gather from your research.
ReplyDeleteNicole