The Ethics of Human Cloning
Coleen Martin and Lisa Melton
What is Human Cloning?
• Human Cloning- A clone is “ a group of cells or an
individual organism or group of organisms derived from a
single cell. Thus a bacterial colony is a clone, as are
identical twin human beings.” ( This definition came from
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology by Smith and
Wood.)
• Layman’s terms- taking the nucleus from an individual to
make an identical twin.
The Arguments For and Against
Human Cloning:
Arguments Against Cloning:
Arguments For Cloning:
Cloning technology hasn’t
been tested on humans.
What about mutations and
biological damage?
Very little testing has
been done, and the only
testing thus far has been
on animals. No concrete
information about the
risk of mutations and
biological damage.
Arguments Against Cloning:
The child would be
compared to the adult from
whom he was cloned.
There would be unfair
expectations for the clone
to perform at the same (or
even higher level) of the
person they are cloned
from.The child’s sense of
worth or individuality
would be difficult to
sustain.
Arguments For Cloning:
This happens now with
fundamentalist parents who
isolate their children from
the modern world. Some
twin mothers already
suppress individuality by
dressing twins alike. No
one’s life is without
burdens.
Arguments Against Cloning:
Human cloning
undermines the structure
of the family by making
identities and lineages
unclear. Is a thirty-five
year old really a sister to
a newborn clone? Who
has responsibility for the
child?
Arguments For Cloning:
The genetic view is that
the clone is a sibling of
the thirty-five year old.
Arguments Against Cloning:
People who clone
themselves are
narcissists.
Children are engineered
to meet certain
specifications.
Arguments For Cloning:
Cloning could be used for
lifesaving purposes. For
example, cloning could be
used so that a dying child
could get the necessary
bone marrow transplant
needed for survival.
Something Else to Consider:
• Gene Transplantation Technology- the goal
is to produce a child that has certain traits.
This involves taking select genes from a
nucleus to produce desired traits.
• On the other hand, human cloning
duplicates the entire genome with all its
imperfections.
We don’t interfere with
people’s freedom to create and
acquire children now
(as long as it is legal).
Is human cloning any
different?
What do YOU think???