Cloning And Eugenics Essay Research Paper Cloning

Cloning And Eugenics Essay, Research Paper

Cloning And Eugenics

Cloning and eugenics are some of the most controversial issues that face society entering the 21st century. The increasing knowledge that we are gaining from studies such as the Human Genome Project, are giving us the tools that we need to artificially produce living organisms. The main issues being debated in this field are whether it is ethically right for us to clone ourselves or, is it our place in God s creation to genetically enhance ourselves for medical purposes.

A poll conducted in 1997 stated 48% of Americans believe that cloning is wrong. It was also reported that 78% of the population believes that cloning is against God s will. These statistics only show the ethological conflicts in society that will prohibit cloning from becoming a widespread experimental science.

The Science

The basics of cloning consist of taking the nucleus of a somatic cell (or non-reproductive diploid cell), and transferring it inside of an enucleated oocyte (egg cell with the nucleus removed). This new cell will then when stimulated, begin the normal gestation process as if it were a naturally fertilized cell. This will then produce an exact genetic copy of the donor organism. This has been successfully completed with many types of animals but never on humans do to ethical issues. Dolly was the first sheep to be fully cloned on 1996. Following this President Clinton commissioned the National Bioethics Advisory Committee.

The Myths

A few of the initial objections to cloning were either speculative or based on simple misunderstandings, such as, that cloning would allow for the instantaneous creation of a fully grown adult from the cells of an individual. Other fears stemmed from the incorrect idea that an exact copy, although much younger, of an existing person could be made. This fear reflects a mistaken belief that one’s genes bear a simple relationship to the physical and psychological traits that make up a person. Although genes provide the building blocks for each individual, it is the interaction among a person s genetic inheritance, the physical and cultural environment, and the process of learning that result in the uniqueness of each individual human. Thus, the idea that nuclear transplantation cloning could be used to re﷓create exemplary or evil people has no scientific basis and is simply false.

The Law States

Federal law already requires that clinics using assisted reproduction techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, be monitored. This requirement would appear to apply, to efforts to use somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning to create a child. This bill, the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992, covers all labs that involve manipulation of human eggs and embryos, and requires that rates of success at achieving pregnancies be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for publication in a consumer guide. It also directs DHHS to develop a model program for inspection and certification of labs that use human embryos, to be implemented by the states.

Enforcement of these protections lies primarily in the hands of Institutional Review Boards, (IRBs) committees appointed by institutions (such as universities) where research is conducted. IRBs review experiments before people can be enrolled. To the extent that efforts to clone human beings take place at institutions subject to these regulations or in experiments funded by the federal government, any serious question about the physical harms that might result would make it difficult for such experimentation to be approved.

Proposed Legislation Pertaining to Cloning Human Beings

Federal. S. 368, a bill to ban the use of federal funds for research with respect to the cloning of a human individual, defined as the replication of a human individual by the taking of a cell with genetic material and the cultivation of the cell through the egg, embryo, fetal, and newborn stages into a new human individual. . H.R. 922, providing that [n]one of the funds made available in any Federal law may be expended to conduct or support any project of research that involves the use of a human somatic cell for the process of producing a human clone. . H.R. 923, providing that it shall be unlawful for any human person to use a human somatic cell for the process of producing a human clone. StateBills that. ban the use of governmental funds for any research using cloned cells or tissue Alabama [A.B. 1082 (introduced April 23, 1997)]. ban the use of governmental funds for cloning an entire individualMissouri [1997 Mo. H.B. 824 (introduced March 6, 1997)] Maryland [Md. H.J.R. 28 (introduced March 20, 1997)]. ban cloning an entire individual, regardless of funding sourceAlabama [S.B. 511 (introduced March 7, 1997)]California [Cal. S.B. 1344 (introduced March 11, 1997)]Illinois [1997 Ill. H.B. 2235 5 (introduced March 10, 1997)]Illinois [1997 Ill. S.B. 1829 (introduced March 7, 1997)]New Jersey [N.J.A.B. 2849 1 (introduced March 24, 1997)]New York [1997 S.B. 2877 (introduced February 26, 1997)]North Carolina [S.B. 782 (introduced April 10, 1997]Oregon [Ore. S.B. 1017 1 (introduced March 19, 1997)]West Virginia [W. Va. S.B. 410 (introduced March 21, 1997)]. explicitly ban any research using cloned cells or tissueCalifornia [A.B. 1251 (introduced Februa