Cloning and Genetic Engineering

Everyone has heard of the many crazy things that go on with gene replications and other things such as that. Today I will be discussing a particular medical topic that has been around for years and is still in the works today. Human cloning is a very interesting topic because all humans are born from another human and no person is the same, so the thought of a human being regenerated and having another clone is very interesting. It also proves that with the advancement of science that anything can be done even things that we as humans always thought was impossible.

Some people may ask what human cloning is, well according to the National Human Genome Institute (2018) human cloning is defined as a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. This process is amazing because like I mentioned earlier every is different so having the same genetic make-up is very shocking. There are many different stories about people many years ago cloning humans but, it seems to not have been true or successful. According to the National Human Genome Institute (2018) In 1998, scientists in South Korea claimed to have successfully cloned a human embryo, but said the experiment was interrupted very early when the clone was just a group of four cells. They also state that In 2002, Clonaid, part of a religious group that believes humans were created by extraterrestrials, held a news conference to announce the birth of what it claimed to be the first cloned human, a girl named Eve. With all these different speculations over the years we can see where many people are confused on whether human cloning is really real or even if it is going on or not.

When it comes to today's healthcare system many new discoveries are making it advance and better for human beings to survive and thrive even better than before. Human cloning has helped many people in the healthcare field in this day in age in ways that most people do not know about. People today view it this topic as very controversial because to some they may look at things from more of a spiritual point of view rather than a science one which is the one that it should be viewed from since it is based off science.

To the healthcare profession's well to some of them according to the article Psychological aspects of human cloning and genetic manipulation: the identity and uniqueness of human beings By Nestor Micheli Morales (2009) that cloning humans is questionable mainly because that certain psychological problems can arise from it. These psychological problems include the lack of a sense of uniqueness and problems related to identity Morales (2009). Many can see where that can be a problem because someone's own personality and sense is what makes them special and it also makes them who they are. Morales (2009) also explains how some people think that since there is not much accurate information on it that these allegations about human clones having psychological problems may not be true.

Some also argue that nature already does its own cloning when it comes to identical twins. Morales (2009) states that some authors such as Pence (1998b) indicate that a cloned person would not be an exact copy of an adult human being. Although the gene structure would be very similar at the molecular level, there will be many differences. Morales (2009) also states that Pence (1998b) and Strong (2005b) point out that the brain cannot be cloned or duplicated and, most importantly, the experiences of a human being cannot be replicated by cloning. With that theory being put out there from a healthcare profession point of view that seems right and many people who disagree may have been influenced of what they think cloning is by things they see on television or things they have heard over the years.

With this topic there comes many different controversial views from politicians, to healthcare providers even people that do not have a profession. Some people see it as taboo that people can be cloned so there are many cons to this some are even looking to get human cloning banned. According to the article Human Cloning: A Watershed for Science and Ethics? By Gareth Jones (2002) the European parliament called for human cloning to be banned. They say that it is a serious violation of fundamental human rights and it is also offending against human dignity Jones (2002). Anyone can see where they are right about this. It's like some may want to be cloned but, then they clone people and could probably get away with it and doing bad things with the clones or even scamming people with them. It also states in the article that the National Bioethics Advisory Commission in the United States had did a report in June 1997, which was a response to the president Jones (2002). In this report it recommends that moratorium on the use of federal funding should be continued but only for a short-term when it comes to a child being created by somatic cell nuclear transfer Jones (2002).They did not want the cloning to go on for too long because they were afraid for safety reasons of technology and the fear that human cloning undermine important social values that people have Jones (2002). By this they meant that they did not want to encourage eugenics or manipulation as others other than a person and not objects.

Since these two decisions where made it seems as if that the United States may not care about humans and their rights as much as other countries do, since Europe tried to ban it and the United States did not. To me it's more of a regional thing so it should be done at a regional level and banned in areas that do not agree with it and have some kind of limitations on places that do allow it, so it won't get out of hand.

Another thing that has to be considered when it comes to human cloning is the benefits of it. With human cloning being out of the ordinary most think that it's bad but, I feel as if the good that it can possibly offer can be beneficial if only we knew about the benefits. According to the article Hubris, benefits and minefields of human cloning By Nature (1998) states that cloning debate that must be addressed if the many beneficial possibilities opened up by work at the Roslin Institute and elsewhere are not to be stifled (as some of the rules on, for example, embryo research and the use of fetal tissue in the United States have already done). It also explains how this happens to include the regeneration of diseased or damaged tissue and body parts made possible by more thorough knowledge of the techniques needed to manipulate the expression of the genes Nature (1998). This can be beneficial as we can see because diseased tissue can be bad for a person just as well as damaged ones so when someone takes cloning to repair it cloning can be beneficial because it's the person's own tissue. Many people may think it is crazy but, I think that this way of cloning should be used more often.

Conclusion

When it comes to human cloning many different positions and aspects have to be carefully viewed. From important historical perspectives why, it is significant in today's healthcare world, how the medical profession views it and even legal or ethical issues pertinent to the essence of human cloning. All these things that I have mentioned are very important to consider because it gives clarity on the topic and it allows a person so to know what's going on when it comes to human cloning. After reviewing this essay, one has to think is human cloning really that bad and will it continue to be done in the future.

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