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Science Vs. Ethics Essay, Research Paper

Science vs. Ethics

An elderly man is diagnosed with an aneurysm, the thinning in the wall of the aorta. In order to repair his failing artery, he receives a patch of healthy tissue-cloned from his own cells and cultured in a laboratory. A child is born free of the gene that allows sickle-cell anemia, despite both her parents being carriers. How was this possible? In the embryonic cell from which she was cloned, normal DNA was used replaced the flawed gene. Could a genius clone Hitler? Could a wacko clone Einstein?

These futuristic scenarios are not yet part of the debate over cloning, but they should be. Science fiction is now science fact and cloning is at our fingertips. This new god-like power is extremely unsettling to some. In fact, many want an immediate worldwide ban on the procedure. Despite the applications of cloning veering more towards medical applications rather than the regeneration of lost organisms. Ethical and social concerns driven by fear and ignorance still give reason for a major question to arise: Should genetic cloning be banned? Absolutely not, I feel it should remain unrestricted especially while still in the developmental stages.

Cloning has recently become a possibility that seems much more feasible in today’s society than it was twenty years ago. Cloning is achieved when many living cells are created from a single cell. In the case with Dolly, a living ewe provided the necessary “mammary cell”. Mammary cells, like all cells, contain a copy of every gene needed to make a duplicate of itself or the whole organism. The mammary cell continues to grow and divide then, due to a lack of nutrients, enters an inactive state. The egg is kept alive in a laboratory dish. A second ewe provides a living egg. “The nucleus is removed from the egg”. Then the egg is electrically fused with the mammary cell, this results in an embryo. “The embryo is then implanted within a surrogate mother”, which then gives birth to a genetically identical lamb (Begley 56-57).

There are several dangers associated with cloning that are not necessarily addressed by the media. The human species is characterized by its diversity (Starr 476-479). Cloning could stop the free mixing of human genes and perpetuate only the genes of a few individuals. The prevention of gene flow is dangerous to species, because it can lead to the loss of an entire gene or trait (276). Despite the famed success, there are rarely mentioned failures that proceeded the cloning of Dolly. Scientist were able to successfully clone Dolly after 276 attempts (”Cloning Special” Internet). These 275 engineering failures died because of severe mutations. The most feared danger is the possibility of cloning a dead historical figure. This fear is lives only in Hollywood as expressed in the 1978 film “The Boys From Brazil” in which there is a plan to clone Hitlers (Begley 55). This would be possible if there were cell from his body. The clone would not necessarily look or act like Hitler because of environmental influence (”Cloning Special” Internet).

As matters involving cloning begin to shift toward human applications, many condemning concerns arise from religious beliefs. The major religious groups are quick to object and publicly voice any rashly formed opinion. Many religious leaders have spoken on the announcement of the recent success of animal cloning activities, Dolly in particular, and what this means about the possibility of cloning humans. Even within different religious groups there are similarities concerning the moral and ethical sides of cloning humans and animals. As felt by the majority of religions “the divine power to create life” is a power that humans should not possess. “Pope John Paul II made a recent statement against cloning of all life forms. The Vatican issued statement specifically condemning the cloning of humans but has not come out officially against cloning of other animals”(” Ethical Positions” Internet).

Ideas based on religion and easily avoidable fears should not stop the advancements of an extremely beneficial science. Cloning has several existing medical benefits, as well as many that have yet to be explored. There are possibilities for organ farms and banks. The furnished organs would come from cloned tissue. Only the organs would be cloned, not the whole organism. This procedure has unlimited medical possibilities. Parents could have a cloned embryo frozen, then stored for later regeneration in the case of a child’s death or as an organ donor (”Cloning of embryos” 1117). Cloning can be applied as a screening process to avoid genetic disease or strengthen a bloodline. “Rabbi Moses Tendelr, professor of medical ethics at Yeshiva University” recommends cloning over sperm donations for “Holocaust survivors” (Woodward 60).

Cloning is pushing the way for new medicines:

Cloning is the latest enhancement of a biotech field called transgenics?

transgenics companies have been altering the embryos of goats, pigs

and mice with human genes so they can produce proteins and drugs

for treating cancer and other diseases.( Reibstein 58)

In fact, some companies, with the help of cloning, are currently working on ways to make pigs grow unrejectable human hearts and kidneys, a tissue glue for use in surgery and a drug for cystic fibrosis (58). Scientists are also working on cattle for aid in human medicine:

US scientists announced that calves George and Charlie have joined Dolly

the sheep in the growing pantheon of cloned farm animals. Massachusetts’s

bioengineers James Robl and Steven Stice used an advanced genetic technique

to produce the calves, the first in what the duo hopes will become a

commercially successful herd of cows that will produce drugs in their

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