Term Paper
on Human Cloning - Effects on New Generation
What is Human cloning?
Human cloning means making a genetic copy or duplicate of an existing person. It
would be done by taking the nucleus from a somatic cell in an existing person
and putting it into an egg whose nucleus has been removed. This somatic cell
that provides nucleus can be derived from any cell of an embryo, fetus, child or
adult and possess two sets of chromosomes. While the nucleus which has been
removed from the egg contains only one set of chromosomes. After the process has
take place the egg contains a nucleus and DNA derived from the other cell. Then
the egg will be allowed to cleave and will be implanted in the uterus. The baby,
and later the child and adult, would be the genetic duplicate of the person from
whom the original cell nucleus was taken. A person created in this way would not
have a genetic mother or father, but instead a "nuclear donor." Human cloning is
a type of asexual reproduction and the process through which human cloning is
accomplished is called “Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer”.
Current Limitations of Human cloning and affects on Future generation
There are many wrong beliefs and misconceptions among people about human cloning
and its various applications on the basis of which it is being promoted by
researchers. Initially it was appreciated and appeared attractive because people
thought it could reproduce an exact replica of popular personalities, actors,
models and an army of programmed killers.
Following are limitations:
Producing an exact replica of an existing individual:
This is all that human cloning could do. Just produce and exact copy of the
existing human being as far as the looks, structure and physical appearance is
concerned as in the case of identical twins who are born naturally. It cannot
affect the characteristics, attitude and habits of the duplicate. All the
intrinsic values of the replica will depend upon the environment in which he
would be brought up. So the idea of replicating sports stars, dictators and
geniuses is wrong as if replicated they might have the same genetic make up, but
their choice might differ and their preference could be something else.
Creating clones without consent:
There is a possibility if this process becomes common people would start cloning
cells of people, patients without their knowledge or consent. Because according
to this process somatic cells can be isolated and could be used to yield clones
which is quite against the ethics of medicine and research as every person has
the right and freedom to safeguard his privacy and will.
Physical harms related to cloning:
The Human Embryo Research Panel of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in
its 1994 study, advised that embryos should be transferred to a woman’s uterus
only when “there is reasonable confidence that any child born as a result” will
not be harmed. At present, this cannot be assured with any degree of certainty
as far as human cloning. Somatic cell nuclear transfer has not yet been refined
and its long-term safety has not yet been proven. The possibility of genetic or
cellular conditions, and perhaps an array of illnesses associated with cloning,
is of great concern. Human cloning could also result into production of disabled
clones so lot of research is still required to take care of these problems.
Psychological harms related to cloning:
There will be a lot of psychological pressure on the cloned child due to the
fact that his genetic makeup and predisposition would be known to some extent.
What if that child is not able to live up to expectations. What if he doesn’t
grow up to be as intelligent, or athletic due to which he was brought into this
world. He might not have the freedom to chose and live life the way he wants. He
will also not have the privacy that a normal human being possess, the right to
identify his own potentials and utilize them the way he wants.
Benefits of human cloning and effects on future
generation
Assisted Reproduction:
One of the major benefits of human cloning is for those couple who can’t have
kids or don’t want to use the traditional method of having kids. The concept of
in-vitro fertilization, donor sperms and eggs have solved the problem of these
couples which otherwise would not have been possible without human cloning.
Tissues donation:
Another main use of human cloning is that of creating the embryo with the same
tissues as that of an existing individual. This could be done by the process of
Somatic nuclear transfer, which will result in an embryo with the same tissues
as the existing person. After that the stem cell will be removed from that
embryo in order to make organs and tissues that will match the immune system of
the existing person and could be used to replace the defective organ. This
process would definitely save the lives or cure people but at the cost of
destroying a life in the form of an embryo.
What could happen to the Future generation?
For a moment just think what would happen if people really start to clone
someone exactly like them. If the daughter is exactly like her mother. What
would happen to the father daughter relationship What will happen to the mother
daughter relationship? No value of human uniqueness just because he could be
replaced or copied. As said (Kass & Wilson, 1998) cloning shows itself to be a
major violation of our given nature as embodied, gendered and endangered
beings-and of the social relations build on this natural ground. No value of
human life and because they could be reproduce. No appreciation or value of a
person’s unique potentials and capabilities because they can be reproduced.
Human cloning has given rise to the concept of a gene market where popular
people, geniuses, stars would be selling off their genes and people would be
going mad to buy those genes just to have kids like some popular personality, to
have a kid as intelligent as Einstein, to be beautiful like their favorite
actress, to be athletic like their favorite sports star. Babies would be tailor
made according to the will of parents robbing them of their own rights to
maintain their individuality.
Human cloning also has the potential to change the gene pool or genetic make up.
But that could be achieved only if researchers will start using the process of
human cloning widely. This would for sure decrease the human diversity, which
has been one of the most important reason for human’s survival in this world.
Cloning so many people to change the gene pool would result in so many
duplicates and replicas. Human diversity has always produced people with variety
of talents, and individuals with stronger immune system against diseases, which
has always been positive as far as human survival is concerned.
Some researchers also think that those having the knowledge and technology would
hold the power to decide whom should or who should not be cloned. Like other
interventions that can change individual’s reproductive pattern (Kithcer, 1996)
and the resulting genetic characteristics, human cloning can raise the specter
of eugenics. If that’s what happens in the future then obviously those with the
most desirable characteristics would be cloned without knowing the long term
effects of those characters considered as being desirable and suitable for the
current environment. And those considered to have undesirable characteristics
would be ignored. Thus favoring a certain social group and decreasing the
chances of human diversity and variation. Due to this only social groups with
desirable characters would have the access to this technology and physicians
might also act as an agent of those favored social groups.
Conclusion:
Human Cloning poses serious risks of producing children who are stillborn,
unhealthy, severely malformed, or disabled. Problems can consist of mutation,
transmission of mitochondrial diseases, and the negative effects from the aging
genetic material Like animal cloning, human cloning will result in high failure
rates which will definitely take uncountable lives or embryos to reach to the
point of success. As research cloning requires the death or destruction of
embryos. All these concerns indicated towards one thing that Human Cloning is
the future and we will be facing it sometime in our future lives. But now is not
the right time to start using it widely as its harms are unknown. There is still
plenty of room for research to fill in and deal with the current limitations and
problems that the researcher faced in animal cloning. Its success rate is almost
next to nil and impossible so it’s useless to implement this technology on
humans right now.
References
Kass, Leon R. “The Wisdom of Repugnance.” In: The Ethics of Human Cloning Kass,
Leon R. and Wilson, James Q. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for
Public Policy Research, 1998.
Kitcher, Philip. The lives to come: the genetic revolution and human
possibilities. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. p. 123
