Discuss the Moral and Ethical issues of Cloning Animals

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Adrian Tam

Discuss the Moral and Ethical issues of Cloning Animals

Cloning animal is a type of reproductive cloning, involved in the production of a genetically identical organism as its ‘parent’. This process requires the transfer of a nucleus from a donor adult cell (somatic cell) to an egg which has no nucleus. If the egg begins to divide normally it is transferred into the uterus of the surrogate mother. The first successful animal cloning is the cloning of sheep – Dolly in 1996.

Some people would argue that the act of cloning is morally wrong as it requires the experiments of living cells. As animals are living organisms, it is therefore wrong to manipulate with their cells and killing the cell after the experiment is equivalent to killing an animal. The experiment might also be regarded as torture to animals, as we add in chemicals in Petri dishes to stimulate growth of cells. However, some people would agree with the act of cloning, as this is for the greater good. The result of animal cloning could lead to the evolution of reproductive and therapeutic cloning, and eventually could clone an entire organ for cure of diseases, e.g. cystic fibrosis, diabetes, infertility etc. It benefits the whole human community, and some people would regard the sacrifice of a few animals as a necessary and acceptable act. As most of us eat meat during meals, this is equivalent to killing an animal anyway. Legally, reproductive cloning is banned by UK Government and many others as it is regarded as morally and ethically unacceptable by the general public.

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Ethically, it is regarded as wrong for Christians as the experiment of cells is equivalent to ‘playing’ God – it is interfering with nature and only God can be the creator and sustainer of life. While to create 'Dolly' (the cloned sheep), all but one of 200 embryos died during experiment, this is murder, which is not acceptable for Christians. As we can see the Christian view from the Vatican website: “Therapeutic cloning is not acceptable… it is illicit…..using adult stem cells are more desirable… this represents a real hope for many suffering people.” There are also a lot of ...

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Spelling and punctuation are fine but the grammar is incorrectly worded in places making the sentences harder to read.

The introduction is good and sets out what is to come in the rest of the essay but I would have liked to have seen either a diagram explaining the science behind cloning or a bit more depth to the text before launching into the different arguments about it. The main body of the text also concentrates too much on religious arguments and could be more widespread to include broader opinions on the topic. Positives should also be included for cloning ethically to being balance to the essay overall. A conclusion is needed. I would have expected the science to have been at slightly greater depth for this level.

Response to the question overall is okay, and considers a number of viewpoints on the topic, but the gain higher marks, the essay needs more balance and scientific depth. The essay is presented mostly in a concise and clear way but in parts the sentences are waffly and could be made more concise or clearer. The essay also needs a conclusion.