Derrick Alba
Speech #3
May 17, 2004
Human Cloning: Part 1 (Pro)
Thesis: The subject of Human Cloning is a controversial issue.
Introduction: On one hand there are benefits in terms of scientific and medical research and applications. On the other
hand there are ethical, legal and moral implications attached to human cloning.
Preview: In the first part I will go over some of the types of human cloning and their benefits in terms of science and
medicine while in the second part, Brian will go over the ethical, legal and moral implications to human cloning.
Three Major Types of Human Cloning
1. Embryo cloning (a.k.a. artificial twinning):
 Embryo cloning might be more accurately called "artificial twinning", because it simulates the mechanism by
which twins naturally develop.
 It has been successfully carried out for years on many species of animals. Some very limited experimentation
has been done on human embryos.
 Nature itself is the greatest cloning agent. In about one of every 75 human conceptions, the fertilized ovum
splits for some unknown reason and produces monozygotic (identical) twins.
Possible Benefits to Artificial Twinning:
 In terms of medicine, identical twins provide the best, most compatible organ and tissue donation for their
siblings. Twins caused by artificial twinning would provide the same benefits.
 Artificially twinned embryos can be implanted and birthed separately theoretically providing larger birth
weight babies than natural twins who have to share the same womb.
Common Myth: Cloning Xeroxes a person.
 Cloning merely re-creates the genes of the ancestor, not what he has learned or experienced.
 Conventional wisdom holds that about half of who we are comes from our genes, the other half, from the
environment.
 Cloning cannot re-create what in us came from the environment; it also cannot re-create memories.
2. Adult DNA cloning (a.k.a. reproductive cloning):
 This technique which is intended to produce a duplicate of an existing animal.
 It has been used to clone a sheep and other mammals. The DNA from an ovum is removed and replaced with
the DNA from a cell removed from an adult animal. Then, the fertilized ovum, now called a pre-embryo, is
implanted in a womb and allowed to develop into a new animal.
Possible Benefits to Adult DNA Cloning:
 Some talents seem to be genetically influenced. Musical and artistic ability seems to run in families. Cloning
using the DNA from the cell of an adult with the desired traits or talents might produce an infant with similar
potential.
 A heterosexual couple in which the husband was completely sterile could use adult DNA cloning to produce a
child. An ovum from the woman would be coupled with a cell from the man's body. They might find this more
satisfactory than using the sperm of another man.
 Two lesbians could elect to have a child by adult DNA cloning rather than by artificial insemination by a man's
sperm. Each would then contribute part of her body to the fertilized ovum: one woman would donate the
ovum, which contains some genetic material in its mitochondria; the other woman the nuclear genetic
material. Both would have parts of their bodies involved in the conception. They might find this more
satisfactory than in-vitro fertilization using a man's sperm.
Common Myth: Human cloning reduces biological diversity.
 Population genetics says otherwise. Six billion people now exist, soon to be eight billion, and most of them
reproduce. Cloning requires in vitro fertilization, which is expensive and inefficient, with only a 20% success
rate. Since 1978, at most a half million babies have been produced this way, or at most, one out of 12,000
babies.
 Over decades and with such great numbers, populations follow the Law of Regression to the Mean. This
means that, even if someone tried to create a superior race by cloning, it would fail, because cloned people
would have children with non-cloned people, and resulting genetic hybrids would soon be normalized.
 Cloning is simply a tool. It could be used with the motive of creating uniformity (but would fail, because of
above), or it be used for the opposite reason, to try to increase diversity (which would also fail, for the same
reason).
3. Therapeutic cloning (a.k.a. biomedical cloning):
 This is a procedure whose initial stages are identical to adult DNA cloning. However, the stem cells are
removed from the pre-embryo with the intent of producing tissue or a whole organ for transplant back into
the person who supplied the DNA. The pre-embryo dies in the process. The goal of therapeutic cloning is to
produce a healthy copy of a sick person's tissue or organ for transplant.
Possible Benefits to Therapeutic Cloning:
 This technique would be vastly superior to relying on organ transplants from other people.
 The supply would be unlimited, so there would be no waiting lists.
 The tissue or organ would have the sick person's original DNA; the patient would not have to take
immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their life, as is now required after transplants. There would not be
any danger of organ rejection.
Common Myth: People created by cloning could be used for spare organs for normal humans.
 Nothing could be done to a person created by cloning that right now could not be done to your brother or to
a person's twin. The U. S. Constitution strongly implies that once a human fetus is outside the womb and
alive, he has rights.
 Decisions backing this up give him rights to inherit property, rights not to suffer discrimination because of
disability, and rights to U. S. citizenship.
Transition to Brian: Now I will turn it over to Brian who will go over the second part of this speech.
Bibliography
Robinson, Bruce A. Human Reproductive and Therapeutic Cloning. Article. February 13,2004.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cloning.htm#menu

This resource provided the types of cloning available and the scientific and medical benefits.
Pence, Gregory E. The Top Ten Myths about Human Cloning. Article. 2001.
http://www.humancloning.org/myths.php

This resource provided a “top 10” list of common myths and misconceptions concerning cloning.