Genetic Engineering Human Cloning

¶ … controversy with regard to genetic engineering and the exact effects it has on the social order. Some people consider this domain to provide the world as a whole with a window for opportunity while others believe that it goes against everything that mankind stands for. The clinical benefits associated with such technology are downright impressive and it is very probable that it is going to have a particularly positive impact on the world of medicine in general. However, what most fail to consider are the ethical and social implications that genetic engineering is going to bring on.

Scientists have focused on human cloning and genetic engineering as means to help society experience faster progress and in order to successfully combat a series of medical problems that humanity has been dealing with for several millennia. Even with this, the fact that there are numerous groups who oppose such measures by bringing arguments involving religion and ethics is certainly intriguing, especially considering that it is difficult to determine the exact effects that these respective medical processes are going to have on the world.

Advances in genetic engineering is changing people's understanding of health and illness and this means that society needs to be ready to deal with reform that would practically revolutionize medicine. The fact that a great deal of common health problems has a genetic component means that they can be addressed through genetic engineering and that people can practically remove these respective maladies from the world. "Hundreds of genetic tests are now available which can identify individuals who carry one or more gene mutations associated with an increased risk of developing common health conditions." (Greco, Tinley, & Seibert, 2011, p. 2)

Shock and fascination are two of the most common reactions that people experience when they are provided with the opportunity to actually learn what genetic engineering and human cloning mean. The moment when Doctor Ian Wilmut and his colleagues managed to clone a sheep by using a single clone in an adult sheep played an important role in shaping the future of medicine. While most of the world expressed distrust with regard to this process, "a few more cautious voices were heard, both suggesting some possible benefits from the use of human cloning in limited circumstances and questioning its too quick prohibition, but they were a clear minority." (Brock)

Controversy regarding cloning is strongly powered by the media world, taking into account the numerous disturbing media representations of individuals sustaining genetic engineering or human clones. When considering morality, it would seem that human cloning should be accepted on account of how people are free and thus have the right to use reproduction as a tool. The fact that many parents in the present are unhesitant about conceiving in spite of the fact that they know that their children are likely to suffer from particular disorders transmitted through genetics certainly brings on a series of controversies. Genetic engineering and cloning are certainly advantageous concepts when considering that they can remove such risks (Brock).

Human cloning can certainly have a great deal of benefits, ranging from parents who can clone a child who was very dear to them to society as a whole cloning individuals who have distinguished themselves through impressive abilities. One of the moral issues most commonly associated with cloning involves the right to a unique identity. Cloning practically leads to people risking the right to have a unique identity, given that they would have someone else look exactly like them. Furthermore, the fact that the clone would be acquainted with how his or her original self went through life would make it impossible for him or her to concentrate on his or her personal identity. Psychological distress would certainly be a disadvantage in the case of many clones.

Judeo-Christian beliefs promote the idea that the body needs to be acknowledged as a temple of the Holy Spirit and that it would thus be wrong for someone to attempt to desecrate this respective temple. To a certain degree however, when considering that creation is the result of sin, it would seem that altering it would not necessarily be such a negative act. Even with this, such ideas are debatable and genetic engineering would likely interfere with God's plan regarding the process of life. When studying the Bible one is probable to realize that God has a plan for everyone's life and interfering with this respective plan would practically mean that one would go against God's laws.