PLANET Atom’s Futures
Several advancements in biotechnology have been made because of which many things are possible today, which we otherwise thought is possible only in our imagination. One such advancement is cloning. Cloning is the scientific method through which precise genetic replicas of biological organisms are developed. It was the birth of dolly the sheep who was the first mammal to be cloned by scottish scientists, that attracted public attention. There are different methods of cloning like cell cloning, animal cloning and gene cloning. Animal cloning includes reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. Cloning has many advantages like medical and agricultural benefits, but every coin has two sides thus there are several disadvantages of cloning as well which raise ethical concerns. We must ask ourselves where should we stop?
TYPES OF CLONING
Two main types of cloning pertinent with ethics are:
REPRODUCTIVE CLONING: In this type of cloning a copy of whole organism is produced. This allows duplicating the full individual (donor), not just the organs from which the genetic makeup was inherited. Following a few divisons, the egg cell is inserted into the uterus. The cell is permitted to grow into a foetus that shows the same genetic makeup as the initial nucleus donor.
THERAPEUTIC CLONING: In this type of cloning embryonic stem cells are produced. In order to repair damaged or sick tissue in the human body researchers intend to employ these cells to create healthy tissue.
ADVANTAGES OF CLONING
Cloning offers many advancements in many different fields.For example scientists have been able to examine diseases that occur in animals by cloning them to have gene mutations, to increase the amount of milk or meat produced livestock such as pigs and cows have been cloned, it also solves the immunological rejection issue, which is a significant worry when receiving an organ transplant and it is also expected that cloning may revive extinct animals like gigantic pandas and woolly mammoths.
DISADVANTAGES OF CLONING
Even after all these benefits, the ethical concerns can’t be ignored since they are very much troublesome. Similarities between stem cells and cancer cells were observed while investigating the potential of using embryonic stem cells to treat human illness. Both cell types are capable of endless proliferation and research indicates that stem cells may have cancer causing mutations after 60 rounds of cell division and abnormalities have been observed in important organs including the heart, brain and liver of cloned animals. People who oppose therapeutic cloning propse the idea that accepting such procedures means that life can be created and expended for any purpose even if is illegal.
HUMAN CLONING: Human cloning is also a very controversial topic and is ethically unacceptable. Human cloning occurs naturally in humans when they have identical twins. Babies born through this way are safe and healthy since it is a natural process but artificial cloning raise many moral and ethical concerns. People from reigious backgrounds hold these moral values very close to them. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and many other scientific organizations have suggested that human cloning should be banned until it is completely safe.
However some people are in favour of the idea that reproductive cloning can provide benefits to couples who cannot reproduce. Severino Antinori and Panos Zavos attracted public eyes when they stated a plan to create a fertility treatment through which parents who are both infertile can have children with atleast some of their DNA in their offspring
DRAWING THE ETHICAL LINE: WHERE SHOULD WE STOP.
Now the matter at hand is where should we stop. There must be some boundaries to make progress in this field with safety.
There should be a ban on human reproductive cloning because of the potential risk of failure and health issues in clones. Mental health and well being of the individual is also at cost.
Cloning have the potential to lead towards advancement of certain traits such as intelligence or appearence which may lead to inequality among living beings.
While therapeutic cloning has its own benefits, it should be practised with proper regulation. It should take place with transparency and informed consent to avoid misuse.
Cloning is an international concern. There must be global cooperation in order to prevent unethical practices.
All the risks should be properly addressed such as failure rate and potential for genetic abnormalities.
CONCLUSION
The process of cloning provides a great opportunity for the advancement of many fields but only if it is used correctly and without any risk. Therapeutic cloning has more potential to reduce problems and do development in different fields than reproductive cloning because the latter comes with some ethical and psychological concerns that can’t be ignored. However, ethics must be present in order to ensure that development takes place without risks and with 100 percent success. A line must be drawn between what is actually beneficial and what have the potential to destroy the welfare of living beings. There are certain measures that can be taken in order to ensure that progress in cloning takes places without compromise on ethical standards. It should be noted that advancements should always take place but without negotiation in the well being of living organisms.
By: Nameera Ali
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