Cloning is replicating the DNA of a person or animal to grow another organism (in whole or part) identical in DNA. The three types of cloning are; embryo cloning (creating identical twins artificially), adult DNA cloning (producing a duplicate of an animal that is already living), and therapeutic cloning (creating an organ or tissue to replace an existing one). I will focus on embryo and therapeutic cloning, as most informed people consider adult DNA cloning unethical, due to the potential problems in the resulting organism, there is less debate here.
The advantages of embryo cloning include; an understanding of miscarriages, improved contraceptives, and preventing growth of cancer cells. But those who oppose embryo cloning say that it will lead to “designer babies”, an attitude similar to that in nazi Germany in the run up to the holocaust, and the possibility of harming or killing embryos and foetuses which are considered by many pro-life supporters as people, thus, according to these pro-life supporters, deserve the same rights as other humans.
Therapeutic cloning is often said to have the most benefits. The main intention of therapeutic cloning is to provide replacement organs and tissues for transplant, but as well as these, there would be a new insight into how cells grow and develop meaning that the possibility of treatments for many other diseases and disabilities may be found. Many diseases would be included by these benefits including; diabetes, some forms of blindness and Parkinson’s disease - or they could be used to help to repair a damaged organ or aid recovery from a stroke. Despite these benefits there are still strong arguments against therapeutic cloning because pro-life supporters believe life starts at conception and most consider the process involved in cloning close enough to conception to constitute life and thus the embryo deserves the same rights as other humans. People can also be unwilling to donate the cells needed for cloning.
In my opinion, cloning in all its forms needs to be heavily regulated so as to prevent a sentient being coming into existence then being destroyed or damaged. If this is done then I believe that the research in both embryo cloning and therapeutic cloning should be allowed.
In conclusion there is unlikely to be an end to this debate unless there is a major change in morality and ethics in the average person and either the pro-life supporters or the scientists and supporters of cloning, however I believe that the benefits out weigh the problems if there are tight regulations restricting how far an embryo is allowed to develop.
