In Favor of Increased Cloning Research
In Favor of Increased Cloning Research
The announcement of the cloned ewe, Dolly, in 1997 by scientists in Scotland, was a shock to the entire world. The idea of cloning wasn’t new, but at the time still seemed farfetched to most. As John Greeney stated “We had not, as a species, ever truly considered the likelihood that human reproduction would fall so fully under the hand of technology” (1). However, once the reality of this controversial practice set in, scholars and common people alike began to debate the pros and cons of cloning from one end of the globe to the other. With morals and ethics at the forefront of the debate, people were, and still are, quite divided, as those are touchy subjects of personal opinion. Governments around the world quickly echoed the squeamishness of the public as many countries enacted bans on experiments that used the cloning of human cells. The United States was no exception as the federal government enacted laws to ban all experiments that involve the cloning of human cells. However, it is clear that the cloning of human cells has become inevitable. In response, the United States should draft laws that only allow for therapeutic cloning and cloning for infertile couples, with an agency that will oversee all of these practices. If this were to occur, there would be a higher quality of life throughout the country.
To start, the cloning of human beings appears to be inevitable. Scientists, doctors, and researchers around the world have been successfully cloning and manipulating animals for years as they wait for the moratorium on human cloning to come to an end. With each attempt at cloning animal cells, these doctors and scientists are learning more about cloning and developing hypotheses on how to apply their findings to humans. The only thing standing in their way of actually applying their findings to human beings are the government bans which are to soon be lifted. “Now that the technology exist to easily modify genes in animals, scientists and bioethicists realize that there is very little standing in the way of applying this genetic technology to human beings” (Richardson 1). Also, in the United States, the federal government gave federal funds to the Oregon Health Sciences University where, “Scientists…modified the genetic make-up of one...