Cloning; Medical Breakthrough or a step too far?

cell division, but after that the cell divides and grows normally. When it reaches a certain stage and size it is transferred to the uterus or a surrogate mother who carries the embryo until its birth. However, this type of cloning is in its earliest stages with many techniques still to be improved, since the 'success rate is low and leads to many aborted and malformed offspring' . This is illustrated through statistics such as 4 clones being successfully produced from 391 attempts . In addition to low success rates, cloned animals tend to have inferior immune functions and higher rates of infection, tumour growth, and other disorders. Japanese studies have shown that cloned mice live in poor health and die early with 10 out of 12 mice born apparently healthy, dying in under 800 days. Animals that have been cloned include 'sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, mice, cats and dogs' , yet other animals such as monkeys, chickens and horses have proved fruitless. This is because the process of nuclear transfer is very delicate and disturbing, and consequently not many cells survive it. Additionally, problems frequently occur later in life; Dolly died after only 6 years with severe arthritis and lung disease, and other cloned offspring have died prematurely from infections and other complications, while 30% of clones born alive are affected with 'large offspring syndrome' and other debilitating conditions.Recombinant DNA Cloning refers to 'The transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid.' Restriction enzymes are used to isolate the specific gene and to cut open the host plasmid. Once united, the altered plasmid is introduced into a rapidly reproducing bacterium, which clones itself, producing billions of copies of the plasmid with gene attached. This technique is used to mass-produce drugs, for example manufacturing Insulin for the treatment of Diabetes , and also for producing enough specific genes for scientific study. It is also useful in gene therapy , genetic engineering of organisms, and sequencing genomes.There are many advantages to cloning; however, these always seem to be in conjunction with serious ethical considerations. Therapeutic Cloning could, in time, significantly alter medicine, as transplants, free from fears of organ rejection, become available, while replacement of damaged cells cure nerve damage or spinal injuries, proven by the recent experimentation on paralysed rats that enabled them to walk again . New proteins could also be developed for diseases such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes and illnesses, previously incurable, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, could also be cured by the growth of new cells. Additionally, cloning could be used in cosmetic and plastic surgery, as doctors may be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage, which matches the patient's tissues exactly. New skin could also be made for burns victims, safer breast implant's developed and possibly new limbs for amputees. Therefore people could change their appearance in a much safer way. However, the moral decision of killing Embryos in order to harvest the Stem Cells they carry is an immense one. Protestors against cloning perceive this as murder, yet thousands of Embryo's are killed each year through abortions and pregnancy screening. To justify killing embryo's needs a weighty argument, yet a cure to terminal and painful illnesses might satisfy this.Furthermore, children needing organ transplants could be cloned using Reproductive Cloning so that spare organs could be attained without the risk of tissue rejection, although the idea of producing a baby simply to acquire organs must be considered from a moral point of view.Other benefits of cloning include the fact that infertile couples, which wish to have a child that is genetically theirs could benefit from cloning as a substitute to IVF treatment. Fertilization for single women who wish to have a baby, and cloning for parents whose child has died could also be considered. An identical copy of their child may ease the pain of death; yet, the clone would never be the same since it is growing up in an atmosphere of grief at the loss of the first child. The emotional pressure of knowing they were a 'replacement' for a deceased child and trying to replicate that child would also be unbearable. Moreover, incest may result in a cloned family situation, since, for example, the father may start a relationship with his 18-year-old wife's clone, which he fell in love with years ago. Therefore the emotional consequences for clones could be devastating. There is also concern over people giving birth to 'designer babies,' with characteristics of children picked out by their parents, causing them to have 'special supposed virtues of super high intelligence or extraordinary athleticism' . There is also the idea that clones may be born at the exact age of the cell their DNA originated from. Dolly the sheep died prematurely at aged 6; this could be the result of her actual DNA being the age of the sheep the udder cell was taken from. Therefore, any animals or human clones may be years older on the day of their birth, while always dying early.Cloning is already in use in agriculture producing many identical copies of prize animals. Breeding is controlled so that the genes containing certain characteristics from the parents are taken and the resulting embryo split apart into clumps of cells that will eventually develop into many identical clones . However, narrowing genetic diversity in this way means livestock 'would all be susceptible to the same diseases and one organism might wipe them out' . Therefore, no one organism has an advantage of fighting the disease over another and consequently, the 'survival of the fittest' idea breaks down and evolution becomes endangered.Similarly, Reproductive Cloning could increase the population of endangered species dramatically, proved by the birth of an endangered baby Gaur on January 8th 2001. The Gaur died soon after birth, yet the experiment proves that endangered animals can be produced through cloning.Ethical issues also play a part in the debate concerning cloning, with suggestions on the moral rights of clones and the issue of how far humans will interfere in nature. Religious organisations have also raised concerns over the biological importance of men, once cloning occurs, since the donor cell and womb needed to carry the foetus to term can be attained solely through the woman.In conclusion, there are many advantages and disadvantages to cloning. While cloning could accord people new starts at life through Therapeutic Cloning, and increase the population and quality of animals, it could also spell disaster for agriculture through the reduction of genetic diversity leading to inbreeding and quick spreading diseases. In addition to this the moral rights and emotions of clones must be considered. Overall, I believe that the amount of research still needed into cloning and the numbers of mutations and unexplained deaths of clones would make it ethically irresponsible at this time. Furthermore, I do not agree with Reproductive Cloning, since it alters the meaning of the 'individual' and, for Human Cloning especially, puts forward far too many moral and ethical arguments. However, Therapeutic Cloning could have great possibilities in the future and may in time be classed as a 'medical breakthrough'.