Eugenics: The Ethical Issues Of Human Cloning

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Human innovation and ingenuity has advanced at an unprecedented pace since scientists like Oswald Avery and Gregor Mendel graced the earth. Diseases and life threatening illnesses that were a death sentence a 100 years ago now cause only the slightest hesitation. Presently, it appears we could even cure infertility and prevent hereditary diseases by an asexual method called reproductive cloning. This refers to the technique of creating a new multicellular organism, genetically identical to another (Bonsor, 2014). However, there are major ethical concerns and controversies with regards to this particular branch of science. Parts of the science community theorize that human cloning would spark an onset of Eugenics. Eugenics is the attempt to improve the population by a method of controlled breeding; it is a concept that deals with the improvement of hereditary qualities of a race or breed by altering the genes with which they are born (Webster, 2014). The term was invented by a British scientist named Francis Galton who advocated the concept. He had read Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and sought to apply it to humans. …show more content…
This is a legitimate concern because in the past eugenics caused a profoundly huge stain on human history, an example being the involuntary sterilization and genocide of people in the early 20th century (Lombardo, 2011). In essence this essay disputes reproductive cloning on account of inevitable eugenic practices, potential embryo ethical implications and disrespect for human