Cloning - A Step in The Right Direction

It all began with the experimentation of Dolly - the first genetically cloned animal. Since this scientific breakthrough, President Clinton, realizing the effects this would have on the human race as a whole, banned the cloning of humans for five years. However, some scientists have declared this ban as a futile approach towards cloning and that perhaps the ban levied by the former president is postponing valuable scientific research. But first, to begin with, what is cloning?

A clone occurs when a person is said to be identical to another person (i.e. identical twins). However, no two people, even identical twins, are exactly alike in physical traits. Everyone, even twins, have their own personal traits, only found in themselves. For instance, no two people have the same fingerprints or the same freckles. There will always be a physical trait belonging to just one person and no one else. But, by the cloning of people, scientists can create an exact and precise physical replica of another person.

Scientists agree today with what science-fiction writers projected sometime ago: It will be possible to duplicate an entire human being or, potentially, necessary parts. In that regard, science should move ahead at all possible speed in both cloning research and genetic mapping. The benefits of being able to grow individual body parts to replace those that fail, using the same genetic code, are tremendous both from a cost and a health standpoint. Technical replacements for organs and anti-rejection therapies are very costly, and for many at the lower end of the economic ladder, unattainable. Additionally, the limited number of available replacement organs mean that people in America die everyday who do not necessarily have to.

However, growing a new liver, kidney, or lung is very different from growing an entire person. Before this technology should be pursued and put to use, society needs to have a large debate over the nature of man, the creator, and the soul. What makes man different from other animals? It is the presence of the soul. Our soul is that unseen and intangible thing that makes each of us who we are. We are, in the eyes of God and in the eyes of each other, unique. This is one reason why a person's genetic duplicate, their clone, might turn out to be a different kind of person, as far as behavior, values and mannerisms are concerned. Life experiences shape who we are and even clones are not assured the same life style as their counterpart.

The right for government to regulate the research and possible usage of cloning in everyday life is also a big issue in today s world. Politicians are rushing to make human cloning a crime, however, they need to slow down, step back and think carefully about what they are proposing. A large number of scientists and ethicists believe that legislation could end ongoing, perfectly legal research directed at solving human infertility problems and developing cell-cloning techniques to produce nerve tissue for accident victims and skin for burn victims.

The government needs to demonstrate a compelling reason to justify regulation. Politicians make references to a "consensus" against cloning and philosophical and ethical objections to it. The perceived menace of clones has receded as people have realized that they deal with partial clones - twins and triplets - all the time. And far from being united in opposition to cloning, ethicists are staking out many different positions. Listening to those debates is a better course than writing unclear legislation, which will turn others against it.

To me, it is clear that the benefits incorporated with human cloning and genetic mapping clearly outweigh the negative aspects. There are too many people who can benefit from the scientific advancements that have now arrived to regulate and put bounds on something, which without a doubt will lead us, further into the new millimuem. I believe that human cloning can put a great change in the world and make it a better and safer place for everyone involved and that is why I am clearly in favor of allowing it to come about.