Watson is not the only one that seems to look at the debate with a lax attitude. Lori Andrews, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, believes that more caution should be taken when experimenting with life. She states, "It's like we've become deadened to the ethical dimensions of this... We're viewing biology as playing with Tinker Toys. There seems to be less resistance to the whole idea of tampering with life" (Andrews qtd. In Lyon). Richard Hayes also sees the lack of concern disconcerting. The executive director of the Exploratory Initiative on the New Human Genetic Technologies sees the lack of an outcry to be "chilling" (Hayes qtd. In Lyon). He states:
Many of these academics have become almost apologists for genetic engineering and cloning... You rarely find a bioethicist who thinks there's anything fundamentally wrong with these technologies. In Europe it's very different, because they had the Nazi Holocaust. But here we have consumer-driven markets" (Hayes qtd. In Lyon).
Hayes has a point. As a nation, we should put something other than our desires first - especially when we are dealing with issues of human life. Life is not something that should be played with at any time for any reason.
Jeff Lyon agrees that we should take extra care when we are dealing with these kinds of sensitive issues. Cloning is becoming more and more a reality with every passing day and we should not turn a blind eye to science but instead look carefully at all sides. Lyon claims the science involved is still "rudimentary" (Lyon), noting:
Most cloned animals die in the womb, and even those that initially seem healthy often develop fatal defects...
Something about cloning seems to disrupt normal gene activation in the developing fetus. This could prove catastrophic if an attempt is made to clone a human. (Lyon)
We still have much to learn about cloning and we should accept this before we move on. The possible mistakes and errors are simply too great and would be impossible to undo.
The government must step in and prohibit tampering with life because the risks are too great. Wilmut maintains that if we take the time we need to develop the biology associated with such experiments, we will benefit in the long run stating, "The time required for this research, however, will also provide an opportunity for each society to decide how it wishes the technique to be used. At some point in the future, cloning will have much to contribute to human medicine, but we must use it cautiously" (Wilmut). Indeed, we must be cautious. We need to realize that while the possibilities are exciting, the adverse implications could be more devastating than we know. Because humankind is born with the insatiable thirst of knowing, the government should halt any experiments with human cloning - for the sake of humanity.
Works Cited
Andrews, Lori. "Playing God: Has Science Gone Too Far?" Women's Day.
Hayes, Richard. "Playing God: Has Science Gone Too Far?" Women's Day.
Lyon, Jeff. "Playing God: Has Science Gone Too Far?" Women's Day.
Pethokoukis, James. "Our Biotech Bodies, Ourselves."
Watson, James. "All for Good." Time Magazine.
Wilmut, Ian. "Dolly's False Legacy." Time Magazine.
