Cloning Essay Research Paper Last updated June

Cloning Essay, Research Paper

Last updated: June 30, 1998Should Cloning Be Banned. Since Scottish scientists reported the successful cloning of a sheep named Dolly last year, new research into cloning has grown rapidy — as has the ethical controversy surrounding the procedure. In May 1998, scientists at a Massachusetts cell research firm announced the production of genetically identical calves using a new cloning technology that could make it possible to create “designer” cattle. And in June, buzz about the successful cloning of a mouse swept through the scientific community.The apparent success of animal cloning has fueled the emotionally-charged debate over the prospect of cloning human beings, which was set off several months ago when Chicago physicist Richard Seed announced plans to clone a human within the next two years. Seed proposes to remove DNA from a woman’s egg, replace it with genetic material from the person being cloned, initiate development of an embryo under laboratory conditions, and then place the resulting embryo into the woman s womb. Seed’s proposal has generated lots of media attention, most of it negative. President Clinton immediately renewed his push for federal legislation to outlaw both public and private attempts at human cloning. “Personally, I believe that human cloning raises deep concerns, given our cherished concepts of faith and humanity,” he said in a national radio address. (In June 1997, the President’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission issued a report concluding that human cloning should not currently be attempted). House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) has also called for a cloning ban, telling Fox News Sunday “I think this is a nasty business, something that we should not be messing in.” Both claim there is broad support for a ban among members of the scientific and medical community. Several anti-cloning bills have been introduced in Congress. Earlier this year, a Republican-sponsored measure to ban cloning was stalled in the Senate. Elsewhere, nineteen European nations signed an agreement prohibiting the genetic replication of humans. Also, many states in the U.S. are considering or have passed anti-cloning legislation. A cloning ban enacted in Michigan last month faces a possible constitutional challenge.Many researchers are concerned that laws prohibiting human cloning will threaten important research — especially in the area of infertility. A March 23 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine called any plan to ban research on cloning human cells “seriously misguided.” Many researchers also believe that, regardless of whatever laws are passed, human cloning will eventually become a reality because it is an inevitible consequence of scientific advancement. The controversy raises fundamental questions about how technology affects our lives and what it means to be human. Is there reason to fear that cloning will lead to a Brave New World scenario. Would a human clone be treated differently than other people. Should the government control cloning research. Or are politicians overreacting, exploiting unfounded public fears for quick political gain at the expense of important scientific research. Should — or can — advances in biotechnology be controlled by the government to satisfy particular moral or ethical beliefs. Should we be cloning around.Breakthrough raises exciting — and scary — possibilitiesFebruary 24, 1997Web posted at: 3:45 p.m. EST (CNN) — The announcement that a team of British scientists had successfully cloned an adult sheep has touched off a new wave of discussion over the ethical implications of such a feat. The achievement announced Sunday by a team of scientists at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, marks the first time anyone has successfully cloned an adult mammal. “There are a number of genetic diseases for which there is no cure … and this will enable us to carry out research into the causes of those diseases and perhaps develop method to treat them,” Dr. Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute said following the announcement. While some scientists hail the cloning as a major breakthrough for research in agriculture, aging, medicine and genetics, others worry what it may portend. If sheep can be replicated, they ask, are humans far behind. Suddenly the stuff of science fiction doesn’t seem so fanciful anymore as one considers the possibility of dictators cloning themselves, dead geniuses brought back to life, or beloved family pets resurrected. Sheep, cattle, pigs … what next. At the center of the controversy is a cuddly 7-month-old lamb named Dolly, an exact copy of a 6-year-old ewe born through a process called “nuclear transplantation.” Specifically, the Roslin scientists put genes from the ewe into unfertilized eggs then implanted them in other sheep. Grahame Bulfield, director of the Roslin Institute, told CNN Monday his team has previously cloned mammals at various stages of development. What makes Dolly different, he said, is that she was cloned not from sex cells, but from mature mammal cells with no reproductive function. (272K/24 sec. AIFF or WAV sound) “I expect in the fullness of time, we will be trying to do the same experiments on cattle and pigs,” he said. What about humans. Maybe such experiments are under way in other parts of the world, but not in Scotland. Due to ethical concerns, Britain has banned human cloning, and research using human embryos is strictly regulated. CNN’s Siobha