Cloning is the process of recreating a genetic copy of an entire organism or sequence of DNA. Genetic clones occur naturally in asexual reproduction and in the birth of identical twins. Clones can also be produced artificially from a number of processes including gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. The University of Utah health science department tells us that the scientific history of artificial cloning spans more than one hundred years. Genetic Science Learning Center)
Throughout this time several positive scientific advancements have been accomplished spanning from artificial embryo twinning of a sea urchin by Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch in 1885, all the way to the successful creation of human embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer in 2013 by Shoukrat Mitalipov and his colleagues. Although several cloning has several beneficial qualities, it still has valid moral concerns. The type of cloning that can be very beneficial to scientific research and is the only type of cloning with little moral concern is genetic cloning.
Gene cloning is done by isolating a single gene inside an organism and creating an exact copy into a sequence of DNA that is easier to manipulate. “Gene cloning is a carefully regulated technique that is largely accepted today and used routinely in many labs worldwide. ” (National Human Genome Research Institute) By creating a genetic copy inside DNA that is easy to manipulate, scientists have created a process that allows endless possibilities in the research of several different scientific studies.
By placing a genetic copy into controlled laboratory conditions these scientists can prompt the median containing the genetic copy to multiply. Scientists can now study how genetic disorders develop and how they are passed from one sequence of DNA to another. The gathered research involved with studying genetic disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis, Down or Turner’s syndrome, or any other condition is detrimental in finding a way to combat these disorders from being passed along any further.
Scientists can not only use genetic cloning to research and understand genetic disorders, but can also use genetic cloning to aid in the development of cures for such diseases. By manipulating an individual gene scientists can attempt to reverse the role that the specific gene had in the development of a genetic disorder. If the modified gene had been taken from a controlled specimen of the genetic disorder the manipulated gene could be reintroduced to the genetic disorder and studied to monitor the effect with no harm to any outside entity.
Another way to aid in the development of a cure would be to introduce certain drugs or medication to a controlled genetic copy to study the reactions caused by these medications and develop better drugs based on the research conducted. By using genetic cloning and manipulating the created genes in a controlled scientific environment scientists have created a way to safely conduct research and develop diseases or medications without conducting tests or potentially harming an individual in the process while still being able to gain the information and knowledge they need.
The benefits of cloning began to raise moral concern when scientists started working toward the cloning of human kind. Utilizing the knowledge gained from genetic cloning scientists have successfully cloned several species using two additional processes of artificial cloning called reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Reproductive cloning produces copies of entire organism by a process called SCNT, or somatic cell nuclear transfer. While therapeutic cloning refers to the process of cloning stem cells harvested from an embryo in the first stages of development.
Although both methods have been successful in the reproduction of several other species, these cloning processes raise several ethical concerns when it comes to cloning humans. The ethical concerns based around reproductive cloning in humans are largely focused on the religious and societal views in creating and controlling life. In a religious view, the creation of life by reproductive cloning is considered unnatural and raised the ethical question on whether or not an individual should play God by creating life with reproductive cloning.
Religious organizations also question the ethics of human dignity which is something the church regards as rooted in an individual’s creation in the likeness of God and if a cloned individual or the clone itself would have the self-respect or feeling of self-worth as someone who had not been cloned. On the societal side of the equation moral concerns lie more in the ethics of the freedom or individuality of a cloned person or the clone.
The clone would live his or her life as a test subject under the study of scientist around the world who would picture the individual not as a person but as an experiment thus causing the individual to never have the opportunity at a free life or an open future. Although extensive studies have been made on identical twins showing that a genetic copy still has slight differences and are separate individuals, the cloned individual would be viewed as a genetic copy and would lose the sense of being an individual.
There are several ethical concerns in using reproductive cloning to recreate human life, but the greatest concerns are with therapeutic cloning on humans. Dr. Katrien Devolder states that much of the debate about the ethics of cloning is how early human embryos are treated. (Devolder) In the first few stages of life a cluster of cells called stem cells that can become any type of cell exist in side of an embryo. Therapeutic cloning is the process of creating life and then destroying that life to harvest the stem cells that can be used to understand diseases and develop treatments.
Many individuals argue that from the moment of conception, and creation of life, either natural or artificial, an embryo has the same basic rights as any other human. Therefore the ethical concerns of therapeutic cloning lie solely in the fact that using therapeutic cloning for the research and development of stem cells involves creating an artificial human life with the only intended purpose of destroying that created life. The opposing individuals believe that the early stages of embryotic development are nothing more than a small cluster of stem cells that could aid in the cure for diseases or the research needed to save hundreds of lives.
These opposing views leave an ethical concern in the morals of the therapeutic cloning of human kind. Other moral concerns that negatively impact the benefits of cloning are the safety issues involved with artificial cloning. With such a quick development in the processes of artificial cloning scientists have developed a limited knowledge of the subcellular and molecular levels in the different techniques and therefor rise a huge safety concern.
Having a limited working knowledge about the cloning processes has had such a significant impact in the success of artificial cloning that less than one percent of all attempts are successful. (Bruner) Due to artificial cloning being so difficult to accomplish and the process being such a high risk procedure, artificial cloning involves a very high rate of abortions and still births. In the small percentage of successful clones there is an extremely low chance of creating a normal clone. One of the developmental abnormalities that is common in artificial cloning is premature aging.
This premature aging is believed to be caused by the donation of DNA with shortened telomeres. The shortening of telomeres in a cell’s DNA are caused by aging. When a telomere reaches its minimal length the cell then dies, essentially beginning the clone’s cell life at the age of the donor cell. It is errors in the genetic program such as this that is causing the young death in artificial clones. The many developmental risks and the extremely low success rate create the greatest safety concerns for an artificial clone.
Subjecting an individual to these conditions becomes a moral concern on whether or not someone should be placed in that situation against his or her own will. Along with the concerns for safety with the artificial clone are also the safety concerns of the surrogate carrying the clone. Studies have been made showing the possible development problems with the individual carrying the clone. With such quick growth in the successful research in genetic cloning it should not take scientists long to further develop reproductive and therapeutic techniques to make them safer and more reliable means of artificial cloning.
Safely and efficiently cloning other organisms for scientific research will continue to produce outstanding benefits in several different studies on genetic development and uses of medication against diseases. Though artificial cloning techniques may become more advanced and generate more useful research the morality behind cloning human kind will always remain in question. Taking safety concerns from artificial cloning on humans will still leave religion and societies’ ethical concerns in the recreation of life and autonomy of an individual that will continue to be debated for years to come.
