When people think of human cloning, they often think of an identical copy of a human being but there are two kinds of human cloning. Human cloning (also known as reproductive cloning) is the manufacturing of a genetically identical copy of a human. In contrast to the goal of reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning is the cloning of human cells (stem cells) or human tissue. Therapeutic cloning is a phrase for a procedure known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. (Murnaghan 2014) The ethics of human cloning is an extremely debatable, ethical issue, particularly in the eyes of the church or pro-lifers.
First let’s discuss reproductive cloning. A common myth about reproductive cloning is that the person would be an exact copy of the original human in every way. Cloning a human isn’t the same as duplicating one. Just like a human clone, twins are genetically identical but they have their own personalities, feelings, thoughts, and desires. A human clone they could grow up much in the same way twins do,(comma error) except without the other twin present. Concerns psychologist(s) have about cloning are that by making a human by artificial means could start another type of discrimination. (Segal 2008) For that reason, why couldn't a clone be accepted by society as a twin? Also, some people might argue that a clone didn’t have a say if they wanted to exist or not. However, isn’t that true for all of us? In any case, for a clone, at least they were created intentionally and actually wanted. Another challenge for the cloned human would be the question, does he/she have a soul?
To be clear, I don’t believe in reproductive cloning. The reasons given to create a perfectly copied human being aren’t worth the risks. Supporters see human reproductive clone as a possible solution to couples experiencing infertility problems or for giving grieving parents their child back. Some even imagine creating clones of geniuses,(comma error) whose work could advance society. Far-fetched views describe farms filled with brainless clones whose organs are harvested for transplantation-a truly appalling and far fetched idea. Those reasons aren’t good enough when weighed against the risks. Some of the risks of creating a reproductive clones are that the clone would not survive past the embryonic development or birth. How many babies would have to die before the scientist perfected the process? Also, some of the children may develop some deformities, and/or have a shorter life span. As well as, have other health problems, such as, liver, kidney, or brain complications(frag). (Learn Genetics, 2014)
Therapeutic cloning, on the other hand, is entirely different and does not involve the creation of a perfectly copied human being. “In therapeutic cloning, no sperm fertilization is involved nor is there implantation into the uterus to create a child. In therapeutic cloning, the nucleus of a cell, typically a skin cell, is inserted into a fertilized egg whose nucleus has been removed. The nucleated egg begins to divide repeatedly to form a blastocyst. Scientists then extract stem cells from the blastocyst and use them to grow cells that are a perfect genetic match for the patient.” (Murnaghan 2014) The cells created by therapeutic cloning can then be transplanted into the patient to
