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Anything that will improve our quality of life, health and safety -- I am all for it. I certainly don't have a knee-jerk reaction to cloning as being automatically immoral. Certainly, the cloning of organ tissue is the future of medicine, since it will allow transplant recipients to lead normal lives, without risks of organ failure or the problematic effects of immunosuppression therapy. It would also eliminate the problem of transplant candidates spending years (and sometimes dying) waiting for a donor. (And, contrary to what they've shown us in "The Island", cloning organ tissue will certainly be easier than cloning whole humans.)
The Neanderthal Genome project is underway -- but cloning an actual organism is a long way away from sequencing the genes. Just like cloning Britney Spears, this is still in the realm of science fiction.
Ultimately, even after scientists have mastered human cloning, it would still probably be a complicated and expensive procedure for a very long time -- and subject to numerous medical protocols and guidelines. Cloning would most likely be used for tissue transplants and treatment of serious diseases and infertility. I don't think that merely mastering the technology will lead to commercial cloning of sex slaves, chimeras or designer super-children. After all, when organ transplantation first became a reality, it could be argued that healthy people would now be hunted down in the streets for their kidneys and livers -- and that hasn't happened. I mean, there are exceptions, but mostly, it's the stuff of urban legends. I am not saying that cloning could never result in a nightmare, but I think those fears are extremely exaggerated. When push comes to shove, our society has enough mechanisms to put brakes on unethical medicine.
I fully agree with Redisca regarding the cloning of tissues. If we have the medical capability to make body organs that can save lives and be used with a much reduced chance of the body rejecting the organ, than we owe it to society to provide the best medical facilitation available.
With regards to human cloning (an entire person, not just organs or body parts), I'm against it. We, as a species, are procreating well enough to burn out the resources on this planet far in advance of wiping ourselves out as a species. We can't provide (logistically) for all the people that exist today, if we start a cloning project, it should be solely for survival of our species. And, once again, I think reproduction is one thing the human race is not falling short on.
I fully agree with Redisca regarding the cloning of tissues. If we have the medical capability to make body organs that can save lives and be used with a much reduced chance of the body rejecting the organ, than we owe it to society to provide the best medical facilitation available.
Absolutely agree.
I am for genetic engineering, but only to the point where it's safe and to save life. There's a big difference of engineering to save a life (from genetic disorders, disease resistant crops) and eugenics (Eugenics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Radically altering genetics for certain traits can bring up problems even generations later.
Full human cloning I'm not sure I would agree with either, too complicated to know what would happen...and I can't see a big benefit for it.
Last edited by subsound; 11-25-2008 at 02:21 PM..
Reason: Spelling
I have no moral objections to cloning of animals, tissues, organs, OR people. I do think it would be rather silly to clone people though. I mean, they wouldn't be the same person that they were cloned from, due to a number of factors. There will certainly have to be a lot of new laws made in regard to cloning, too, because I wouldn't want someone to be cloned without their consent.
Unless there was a darn good medical reason for cloning, at least I wouldn't want to see tax money spent on cloning.
There is a darn good medical reason for cloning. And scientific research in general.
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