To prevent complications related to direct government investments in cloning research, legislation could open the door for privately-funded cloning research projects while at the same time banning federally- or state-funded research projects.
However, most opponents of cloning cite the ethical costs involved in cloning legislation. Opponents of stem cell research sometimes "argue that permitting nuclear transplantation would open the door to reproductive cloning, because a ban only on implantation would be difficult to enforce." (AAAS). Even groups who would welcome therapeutic cloning research fear legal ambiguities. Stem cells do not necessarily need to be harvested from cloned human embryos: they can be harvested from discarded embryos used for in vitro fertilization or from other sources like human placenta. At the same time, legislation can easily permit therapeutic cloning while still maintaining a ban on reproductive cloning.
The social benefits of therapeutic cloning may outweigh the possible costs. Proponents of therapeutic cloning "argue that the moral status of a human embryo is less than that of a full human being, and must be weighed against the potential cures that could be produced by research using nuclear transplantation," (AAAS). Moreover, therapeutic cloning advocates "contend that a ban on implantation on the product of nuclear transplantation would be no more difficult to enforce than a ban on nuclear transplantation itself," (AAAS).
Conclusion and Related Issues
Cloning is one of the most controversial political issues in the United States and in many other nations. Most of the cloning controversy centers on human cloning, although animal cloning is occasionally viewed as a gateway to human cloning. Opponents of cloning cite religious and ethical issues against both research and applied cloning practices. Reproductive and therapeutic cloning processes both produce living tissues. Some opponents of cloning legislation acknowledge the potential benefits of stem cell research but fear a slippery slope toward cloning actual human beings....
Human Cloning The Cloning of Human Beings Cloning is the creation of an exact biological twin generated from the DNA of a donor. In effect, a person creates an exact copy, with the exact genetic sequence, from their own DNA. While the cloning of human beings has been the realm of science fiction, the creation of sheep clones has pushed the idea of human cloning into the range of possibilities. At present,
Human Cloning The subject of human cloning was once the stuff of science fiction novels and television programs. As technology and science improves, the creation of clones has become, potentially, a real likelihood in the impending future. For the follow, the definition of human cloning is that which has been designated by the American Medical Association: The term "cloning" will refer to the production of genetically identical organisms via somatic cell nuclear
Human Cloning The debate over human cloning generally assumes it's possible to safely clone a completely normal human being, and ignores the multitude of problems that routinely plague the process of cloning animals. The current definition of 'successful cloning' is the generation of a viable adult organism (Gurdon and Melton, 1811), a definition used rather loosely given the prevalence of defects that occur. As discussed below, this definition has been traditionally
It focuses on the controversy, and provides answers to the question of whether or not stem cell research is providing the benefits in the ways in which the public believes they will soon be benefiting from the research. The authors contend that partisan responses to the public's concerns over stem cell research are delaying the benefits of much needed treatments and cures that can be derived from stem cell research
Human Cloning Debate When Frankenstein was adapted for stage in 1823 the production's title was Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein. A Victorian audience was concerned with the theme of a man's ambition to replace God by creating a new species. Equal emphasis was placed on this aspect of the novel in the 1831 introduction of Frankenstein, "It is Mary Shelly's critique of where such highly abstracted creative powers can lead
(Weiler, 1998) Weiler states that in relation to the offspring the following must be examined closely: 1) a single parent (genetically) of the offspring which is at the same time a genetic sibling. This issue parallels the non-zygotic fertilization; 2) Multiple twinship. Cloning a number of brothers or sisters from the same cell is similar to the case of twins only more extreme due to the intervention occurring in the process of
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