Controversial Paper 2: Cloning

On the Ethical and Moral Repercussions of Cloning and Its Research Process

By
Timothy Wong

            Cloning seems to be such an intriguing and fantastical concept. It is the stuff of science fiction, and yet is becoming ever more real an idea. The benefits of human cloning seem remarkable and vast; cheap labor, perfect genetics, the creation of life, there are many grand things that could result from cloning. However, these are grossly outweighed by the negative consequences of cloning and its research. From a Christian perspective, the concept of cloning is a blatant rejection of God’s authority and work. But for the sake of argument, I will not be reasoning with my own Christian beliefs. Rather, I will use statistics and general moral reasoning to show that cloning, however many benefits it might provide, is a violent and ruinous concept that perfectly demonstrates how far man can go in order to glorify himself.

            According to the Genetic Science Learning Center, there are number of prominent problems with cloning, the most significant of which is its high failure rate. However, I will address this in a bit. First, I want to briefly cover the other primary problem with cloning: complications that can arise later in development of the clone. The most basic of these are physical complications such as LOS (Large Offspring Syndrome), which explains that, “Cloned animals that do survive tend to be much bigger at birth than their natural counterparts”. Additionally, “Clones with LOS have abnormally large organs. This can lead to breathing, blood flow and other problems” (1). However, there are other complications that could arise in human clones, the greatest of which is identity crisis. The fact that one is a clone of another person could easily lead to psychological distress, and an acute confusion about one’s identity. To be an exact copy of another person is no easy thing to swallow.

            Now, we get to the core of the issue. The simple fact of the matter is that cloning has a drastically high rate of failure, and the research process of cloning has, does, and will leave a wake of destruction and death in its path. The GSLC states that, “Cloning animals through somatic cell nuclear transfer is simply inefficient. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only one to 30 clones are made. Or you can look at it as 970 to 999 failures in 1000 tries” (1). Each “try” is a life, animal or human, that is destroyed. With the current research and experimental process for cloning, there is no way to avoid, at best, thousands upon thousands of deaths, if not many, many more.

This is a moral issue; are the benefits of cloning worth the gross number of deaths its research would leave in its path? I do not believe so. And yet research continues; scientists still nonchalantly sacrifice an innumerable amount of embryos for the sake of cloning research. Sure, cloning sounds like a great idea, a fascinating concept. But for those who are better informed, it becomes a very important scientific and moral issue. Are the benefits worth the cost? Are the countless deaths justified by the end result? That is for the researcher to decide, and one can only hope that their conscience and moral outlook influences that decision.

(1)   What are the Risks of Cloning? (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/cloningrisks/