Essay, Research Paper: Cloning

As most of us know by now, Keith Campbell, a Scottish scientist, cloned a sheep over a year ago. You may think that cloning is a good thing because it is new, but you must consider the implications of it. Cloning can cause war or even destroy civilization. Cloning must be stopped. Before 1952, cloning was unheard of, but in that same year, researchers Thomas King and Robert Briggs cloned frogs from tadpole cells. Many other cloning procedures were performed after them. When Keith Campbell cloned a sheep, nicknamed Dolly, he sparked an international debate. If we have the ability to create humans from a single cell, what is stopping us from creating millions of expendable humans to fight wars. This would lead to an international blood bath. When we learn to clone humans, there will definitely be medical benefits. Just suppose a dying child needs a bone marrow transplant and the family could not find a compatible donor. What do you do? You could clone an exact duplicate of that child and take whatever parts you needed in order to save the child's life. But, how would the clone feel to be brought into the world only to die immediately? Shouldn't the clone have the same rights under the law as you and I?
There are also many religious aspects that must be taken into consideration when creating a clone. Would a clone have a soul? Most people feel that it is unjust to create a clone. A poll was taken and 75% of the people asked felt that it was against God's will to clone another human being. The idea of cloning has appeared in many books and movies. In the end of the movie or book, cloning is proven to be a wrong thing to do. In the book The Boys From Brazil, Adolph Hitler is cloned for a second attempt at eventual world domination. In recent movies such as Jurassic Park, dinosaurs are cloned and they wreak havoc. Clearly, that movie demonstrates that cloning should not be tampered with. Even though there are infinite possibilities that we can learn from cloning, many people feel that it should not be done. Fortunately, President Clinton has issued an executive order that blocks all federal funding for cloning. But, it is only a matter of time before a billionaire decides to fund this research. When that happens we will learn a great deal, but, it could also lead to disaster.