Human cloning: what are the ethics, applications and potential undesira

Mankind has always tried to extend his knowledge about the properties of every living thing; it is an integral part of human nature. What is also important about it is that there is constant disagreement in new views between scientists and society. One such problem is the question of human cloning. Firstly, the term â€Å"cloning† must be defined: â€Å"Cloning is the production of an exact genetic duplicate of a living organism or cell† (Baird 2002, 20). This procedure not only led to producing a sheep, Dolly, but it can also have other very useful applications. Using different methods of cloning is expected to change radically the process of organ transplantation and it is a way of finding appropriate treatments of diseases. As a result of this sick people can be cured and other cases might be prevented. Despite these apparently positive applications, there are some very weighty arguments against human cloning, the main one being that the idea of cloning runs counter to religion and centuries-old principles. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethics of human cloning and analyse its applications and potential drawbacks. Main body There is one very important aspect about cloning – in general there are two basic methods of cloning: reproductive and therapeutic. Not everyone is acquainted with this information, so when the word â€Å"cloning† is used, it evokes the concept of reproductive cloning, â€Å"armies of obedient replicants†, which may appear risible, but â€Å"22% of respondents in ... Time/CNN poll gave this fear as their reason for opposing reproductive cloning† (Levy and Lotz 2005, 234). The following will describe the procedure of reproductive cloning, the reasons for rejecting it and arguments for this method. The aim of reprod... ...ificially conceived. It also has not been proven so far that he would have another constitution or different from usual people’s necessities of life. As it was written above, cloning could be helpful for infertile couples that want to have genetically close children to them. Nevertheless, opponents think that genetics is not compulsory in this situation and it is possible to love adopted children as well as own, so long as the role of mutual understanding is more important than genes. At the same time everyone has a right to marry and to have children, so why it is immoral to have a cloned offspring, if it would make parents happier and possibly will improve demographics in some countries. To sum up the theme of reproductive cloning is complicated and there is no single point of view in all categories, however, discussion of therapeutic cloning is no less complex.