Introduction
With the creation of ‘Dolly”, we have crossed the hurdles of reproduction in mammals without insemination and we are at the threshold of human cloning, which reactivated public debate challenging the ethics of such interference with nature as well as medical benefits of cloning.
Main text
The advocates of genetic technology proclaim that human cloning will revolutionize the medical field in reducing genetic disorders, benefits of gene therapy in regenerating damaged tissues, help prevent endangered species from extinction, can help produce genetically matched and identical children with better traits, and enhance agricultural and livestock production. The main arguments raised against human cloning are the unpredictability of physical incapacities in such cloned babies, limitations in preclinical trials to ascertain risks of this experiment, ethical problems arising from conflict of interest among researchers, and it is against human dignity as “the Universal Declaration of Human Genome and Human Rights (UNESCO 1997) as well as many other documents state that reproductive cloning is contrary to human dignity”. The World Health Assembly resolves that the use of cloning “for the replication of human individuals is ethically unacceptable and contrary to human dignity and integrity” (WHO Ethics ).
Since human cloning is still in the experimental stage and the criticism for and against the subject is replete with valid reasons rational thinkers will be put to the dilemma in agreeing with either of the argument, which is the strength as well as weakness of the assignment. The beauty of the subject is humans are in the proximity to replicate humans, which was thought to be the creation of ‘Mother Nature’. At the same time this encroachment into the domain of nature, (the Creator, God, or the Supreme by whatever name we may assign to it), is a dangerous game of which the propagator may not be alive to witness chaos unleashed on the society by his/her creation. For getting factual comments and information on cloning and genetics reliable sites of international organizations and other prominent educational and research organizations on the Web, like World Health Organization, Ethics Committee reports, Encarta Encyclopedia article on Eugenics, and book titled “Cloning After Dolly’ had been searched.
Reference
encarta.msn.com.