1.0 Introduction
The use of somatic cell nuclear transfer for human cloning has not been proven safe and thus is unethical, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says. Since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1997, somatic cell nuclear transfer has been used to clone mice, cows, and other animals, and observers say that human cloning may not be far behind. (Sally Peters) "Any physician who participated in human cloning at this time would be doing human experimentation without the necessary first steps of successful trials in animals and approval from the appropriate institutional review board. This would be both unethical and unprofessional," Dr. Michael Soules, the society's president, said in a statement. The society added that its stance does not preclude research into the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer for treating disease.
2.0 Scientists, ethicists predict human clones just a matter of time
Cloning humans hasn't happened yet, but the idea of it is in the air. Most scientists and ethicists agree that it's just a matter of time.
Lee M. Silver, biologist at Princeton University and author of Remaking Eden, predicts that the first Cloned human will quietly make its way into the population, sneaking in when no one is looking.
(National Catholic Reporter)"Those who want to clone themselves or their children will not be impeded by governmental laws or regulations," he wrote. "The marketplace -- not government or society -- will control cloning. And if cloning is banned in one place, it will be made available somewhere else." Cloning, more than any other scientific procedure in biotechnology, raises the specter of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Some scientists, ethicists and theologians, though, willing to entertain cloning's potential, if limited, usefulness, suggest that it might serve to produce children for infertile couples or for couples who wanted to replace a lost child with her genetic twin. Cloning a person night, theoretically, also provide a compatible source of bone marrow or organs to help a sick sibling.
3.0 Human cloning is expected to benefit mankind
(Current Science)Supporters of human cloning say it could further the moral mission of medicine easing pain and prolonging life. What better example of that mission could there be than relieving the suffering of a family whose child's life wax cut short? and also say human cloning would expand the boundaries of reproductive choice. It would give infertile couples those who are physically unable to reproduce another way to have children.
With cloning, infertile couples could have children.( Simon Smith) Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful. One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10 percent successful. Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children. Human cloning could make it possible for many more infertile couples to have children than ever before possible.
Even if it were possible to make healthy human clones, opponents say, human cloning would still be immoral because of the distress it would inflict on clones and their families. Parents of a clone would expect the clone to look and behave just like its predecessor. Such an expectation would inevitably lead to disappointment and heartbreak. The parents would be unhappy with the way the clone turned out, and the clone would be unhappy trying to meet its parents' unrealistic expectations.
4.0 International agreement to ban human cloning
Officials from 19 European nations on January 12 signed an agreement banning human cloning. (Christian Century )"At a time when occasional voices are being raised to assert the acceptability of human cloning and even to put it more rapidly into practice, it is important for Europe to solemnly declare its determination to defend human dignity against the abuse of scientific techniques," said Daniel Tarchys, secretary general of the Council of Europe, which drew up the agreement.
The Council of Europe accord bars "any intervention seeking to create a human being genetically identical to another human being, whether living or dead." It rules out any exception to the ban, even in the case of sterile couples. Seed has said he believes his project will be able to help such couples by creating babies for them. The Council of Europe agreement will become part of the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.
5.0 Cloning may cause health defects
(Judy Jones)Cloning may cause long term health defects, a study by French scientists has suggested. A two month old calf, cloned from genes taken from the ear of an adult cow, died after developing blood and heart problems.
The cloning process seemed to have interfered with the normal genetic functioning of the developing calf, according to the researchers whose findings are reported in the Lancet (1999;353:1489-91).
It is likely to cast fresh doubts over the safety and efficacy of cloning, which has so far been controversial largely for its ethical dimension. The study could lend weight to warnings that any attempt to clone humans might carry considerable health risks.
6.0 Conclusion
Until recently, there were few ethical, social, or legal discussions about human cloning via nuclear transplantation, since the scientific consensus was that such a procedure was not biologically possible.
With the appearance of Dolly, the situation has changed. But although it now seems more likely that human cloning will become feasible, we may doubt that the practice will come into widespread use.
