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Sunday, December 10, 2017

BENEFITS OF HUMAN

CLONING

WILL GENETIC ENGINEERING

TAKE OVER?
A representation of human cloning from 9 Things

You Should Know About Human Cloning.

WHAT ARE THE
What is Human Cloning?
CONSEQUENCES?
Human cloning is the process in
By Lina Luu which an individual's genetic makeup is

copied to create an identical copy of the

Are the expenses and dangers of
individual. It begins with the removal of the
embryonic stem cell cloning greater than the
nucleus from an egg cell of a donor
potential benefits? Human cloning is a big
(Galdos). Then another nucleus is taken
debate on ethics and health concerns in the
from a body cell of the individual that will
biology field. Although cloning is shunned
be cloned and is placed in the empty egg
upon by a large amount of people because it
cell. The egg is stimulated in order to begin
is "unnatural," funding should be provided
cellular division and growth (Cloning Fact
to continue the research because the benefits
Sheet). Once it is mature, the embryo is
that come from it outweigh the dangers. Due
inserted into a host uterus for pregnancy and
to the stigma that surrounds cloning, genetic
birth. Many times, cloning is correlated with
engineering also receives a lot of backlash.
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a process called genetic engineering modification in corn crops is able to make it

although the methods and outcome of the more nutritional and reduces the costs for

two procedures differ. These two processes food production (Rutgers University).

are considered synonymous because the Considering the great results from

organism is being created in a laboratory genetically modifying food, we should see

setting. that as a gateway to a large success in

cloning humans.
There are a plethora of uses for

genetic engineering that take place every

day. Through the manipulation of genetic

material, organisms can be changed for the

welfare of other living beings. Some of the

many advantages of genetic engineering is

that it can prevent or treat disease, used to

replace a missing or defective gene with a This photo was taken from Michael Evans' Genetic

new one, repair a faulty gene so it works Engineering article in order to show the concept of

genetic engineering.
properly, and to deactivate or activate a gene

(Evans). This process is carried out quite Benefits to Consider

often in the food industry in order to create

Society is able to benefit in a large
foods with higher nutritional values. Not
array of areas through the use of human
only is the food we have healthier, but they
cloning. There are several uses in the health
are also easier to grow because there is a
field such as assisting infertile couples
higher chance of crops surviving due to
create a biologically related child and
genetic modification. For example, a simple
helping patients in need of organs or tissues

(Islam et al.). Some individuals may be
sterile and do not want to go through the
adoption process because they want a child
that resembles them, so creating a clone
makes it possible for them to have "their
own" offspring.
"Human reproductive
cloning is a way for some
individuals to exercise
their right to reproductive
freedom."
-Joyce C. Havstad
There is a lack in organ donors, so if
someone has to have a tissue or organ
transplant, through the process of cloning,
tissues can be created that will not reject the
patient's body since it is a replica. When a
person has a heart attack, the muscles are
damaged and are irreparable (Galdos).
Creating heart cells from the stem cells of
the heart attack patient allows the body to
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adjust easily because the body's immune
system does not have to fight against foreign
cells. The problem with cloning organs is
that there is still a host that is needed in
order for the needed organ to develop in.
Pigs are often used for these processes and it
is a huge advance in genetic engineering
since the pigs are modified to eliminate any
bad side effects that may occur after the
organ transplant; however, many find it
unsettling because it is an organ coming
from a different species.
Another benefit is that parents can
also avoid passing a genetic disease to their
offspring (Galdos). Mutations in genetics
happen quite often. In some cases, the
mutations can be deadly. Parents can avoid
passing on diseases to their offspring by
replacing the defective gene with a non-
defective gene (Galdos). This is able to give
children a better life where they do not have
to rely on medicines to survive. The
potential benefits that can result from human
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cloning is very vast so we should take a Psychological strain is another

chance to explore the possibilities. problem that can be the result of human

cloning. Multiple failed attempts at cloning

Dangers and Risks
can induce extreme stress for the parents and
Although there are many benefits,
if a successful clone is created, it can also
there are also some factors to consider when
face a stressful upbringing (Kass). Since the
taking the next step toward human cloning.
chances of producing a viable clone is
Multiple health problems can arise for the
already slim, the chance of the clone
donor and host due to the complexity of the
becoming exactly what the parents wanted is
procedure and unknown consequences that
even smaller. The concept of cloning is not
have yet to be discovered (Kass). The
widely accepted in the world because it is
procedure for collecting embryonic cells
"unnatural" so the clone will face
from the donor can be straining because
discrimination. These are new ideas that
multiple cells will be needed due to the low
challenge the traditional way of thinking, so
probability of success. If we take a look at
it will take time for people to accept. In the
the famous clone, Dolly the sheep, it took
long run, cloning and genetic engineering
277 attempts to successfully produce her
will benefit the human species.
(Cloning Fact Sheet). Since the host mother
Conflicting Values
will be incubating a clone, she will have to

go through the difficulties of pregnancy. A concurrent issue about human

Success rates are not high because this is a cloning is how it will affect the family. With

relatively new experiment and the human cloning, a male is no longer needed

procedures have not been perfected. because a woman can create a clone of

herself or of her loved one and raise it

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(Sekaleshfar). This conflicts with many

people's values and beliefs of a normal

family. Values have a large role in life;

however, they should not dominate actions.

With technology rapidly advancing, many

ideals will be challenged.

Accepting the new procedures can be

beneficial, but it will come at a large price.

According to Joe Carter in 9 Things You

Should Know About Human Cloning,

"[embryonic stem cell research] has been

one of the most expensive boondoggles in

biomedical history." A lot of time and

money has already been invested into

cloning, so why not get something out of it?

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Works Cited [5] Havstad, J. C. (2010). Human

Reproductive Cloning: A Conflict of

[1] Carter, J. (2013, May 17). 9 Things You
Liberties. Bioethics, 24(2), 71-77.
Should Know About Human Cloning.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2008.00692.x
Retrieved October 28, 2017, from

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9- [6] Islam, S., Bin Nordin, R., Shamsuddin,

things-you-should-know-about-human- R., & Bin Mohd. Noor, H. (2012). Ethics of

cloning/ Human Cloning: A Comparative Study of

Western Secular and Islamic Bioethics

[2] Cloning Fact Sheet. (2017, March 21).
Perspectives. Bangladesh Journal Of
Retrieved October 28, 2017, from
Medical Science, 11(4), 258-266.
https:www.genome.gov/25020028/cloing-

fact-sheet/ [7] Kass, L. R. (1999). Why We Should Ban

the Cloning of Human Beings. Texas Review

[3] Evans, M. (2011, April 18). Genetic
Of Law & Politics, 4(1), 41.
Engineering. Retrieved October 28, 2017,

from [8] Rutgers University. (2017, October 9).

http://www.earthtimes.org/encyclopaedia/en Genetically boosting the nutritional value of

vironmental-issues/genetic-engineering/ corn could benefit millions: Scientists

discover way to reduce animal feed and food

[4] Galdos, Francisco. Human Cloning:
production costs by increasing a key nutrient
Unmasking the Controversy. Google,
in corn. Science Daily. Retrieved November
Google, 2013,
15, 2017 from
www.google.com/amp/s/harvardsciencerevi
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/17
ew.com/2014/01/22/human-cloning-
1009154956.htm
unmasking-the-controversy/amp/.
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[9] Sekaleshfar, F. B. (2010). A Critique of

Islamic Arguments On Human Cloning.

Zygon: Journal Of Religion & Science,

45(1), 37-46.