Cloning Debates

INTRO

*****************************************************************************

Let's pretend it's the year 2025, and you've just been diagnosed with the HIV virus. No problem. Doctors can simply take out a white blood cell from your body, produce hundreds more exactly like it, and get rid your of HIV.

A cure for HIV? It seems too good to be true. Yet scientists say it may be possible with the process of cloning - replication of the DNA of a particular organ (such as the heart) or animal, including people.

Cloning humans may sound like a process out of a science fiction book, but in fact it is a reality. In 1996, a group of scientists in Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep, and recently, a pig was duplicated in Scotland.

*****************************************************************************

SHOULD WE CLONE HUMANS?

Some scientists say it is only a matter of time before humans are cloned. But human cloning makes many people nervous. Is it right to clone humans? Most say absolutely not; a few say there are positive benefits. Others fall somewhere in between--they believe that cloning whole people is immoral, but do see advantages of cloning human organs, such as the heart or the lungs.

Cloning human organs could save lives. If a person clones her heart at the age of 18, by the time she is 40; her cloned heart will be fully grown. Then, if that person needed a heart transplant later on in life, she would have a fully grown "spare" heart that would function perfectly with her own body. This process could save people who would otherwise die of heart disease.

Jennifer Chan, 16, a junior at the New York City Lab School, is completely in favor of this type of organ cloning.

"I want to be a doctor, and cloning body organs will help save many patients' lives," she said. "I think that cloning is an amazing medical breakthrough. And the process could stop at cloning organs--if we're accountable, it doesn't have to go any further."

*****************************************************************************

'IT'S CREEPY'

But what about going further? Can cloning possibly stop only at organs? Rhonda Ahmis, 17, from Bronx High School of Science, worries that science won't stop there.

"What if after we clone human organs, scientists decide to take it further and actually clone humans?" Rhonda said.

Cloning humans is where the real controversy erupts.

"I can see the advantages of cloning organs for medical purposes," said Jessica Santiago, 14, a Lab School freshman. "But I just can't imagine cloning humans. It's disturbing."

Cloning human beings is indeed creepy. Think about it: if you were cloned, there would be another you walking around the Earth. You would be able to watch yourself grow--a human who looked precisely like you, but wasn't really you. It's almost like bringing your mirror image to life.

So far, the closest thing to cloning humans is identical twins, but they're created naturally. Cloning is NOT natural. It's like making a Xerox copy of yourself. Some people call cloning "playing God"--it's making a duplication of a human.

Sandra Rubin, 15, from Edward R. Murrow High School, said she prefers the term "playing nature." "I don't believe in God, but I do feel that cloning goes against what is produced completely naturally," Sandra said.

However, Dr. Richard Seed, a controversial Chicago physicist who likes the idea of cloning human beings, offers a counter-argument. In response to a question posted on the Human Cloning Foundation website, he said, "God made man in his own image. God intended for man to become one with God. Cloning and the reprogramming of DNA is the first step in becoming one with God."

In an interview on National Public Radio, he also said he wants to create a human cloning clinic. He's entitled to his opinions, but I think Dr. Seed is more than a little strange.

*****************************************************************************

BRINGING A BABY BACK TO LIFE

HCF also believes cloning could help couples whose baby dies. With one cell from the dead baby, cloning would theoretically allow them to re-create their baby and raise her as if she had always been alive. This sounds weird and creepy, but maybe some parents would want to do it.

Jessica Zhou, 16, from Lab School, thinks it makes sense. "If a parent loses a child, it's tragic. Their child lost its chance at life, and cloning would give it another chance," she said. "And it's not like these couples are cloning irresponsibly. They just want their child back, and that's legitimate."

Cloning could also help us improve the genetics of the human race. According to HCF, the average person carries eight defective genes inside her body, and those genes can make people seriously ill.

"With human cloning and its technology, it may be possible to ensure that we no longer suffer because of our defective genes," said the HCF spokeswoman.

Dr. Seed argues that cloning humans is a positive process "for the advancement of science, for the advancement of technology, and for the advancement of humankind."

*****************************************************************************

UNNATURAL SOLUTIONS

Yet many of the teenagers I talked to see more logic with anti-cloning arguments. Jamie Brown, 16, from LaGuardia HS, said she thinks cloning just goes against what was meant to happen.

"The definition of life is being born when nature thinks its right and dying when nature thinks it's time," Jamie said. "Cloning can definitely extend people's lives, but I think there's something to be said for dying naturally when God says your time is up. It's not natural to clone your heart so that you may live longer."

Besides, people die so that new people can take their place. Cloning is a process that will be able to save a woman who might otherwise die, but nobody can prevent death forever.

Would Jamie change her views if it were her own mother or father who needed a new heart--a cloned heart--in order to subsist?

"Obviously, if it were my mother, I'd do anything to prevent her death," said Jamie. "If you bring in personal scenarios, you can't really answer objectively. Generally, I say let nature take its course."

*****************************************************************************

SHOULD CLONING BE LEGAL?

http://www.cloninginformation.org/

The debate over cloning will undoubtedly rage for a long time to come, even if scientists perfect a process to clone humans effortlessly. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine said, "Most ethicists' initial reaction [to human cloning] is that such an action would be unconscionable--although in the U.S., unlike in the U.K. and many other countries, it is not explicitly illegal."

Therefore, an important question is: Should the government be allowed to prohibit human cloning? And if cloning is illegal, will it actually stop scientists from trying? I most people think it should, although I am not sure we can stop the testing.

If scientists who are in favor of cloning discover a foolproof method, I believe cloning will only soar. But the problems that may end results from cloning are also inevitable, and I think we will regret it if we take cloning too far.

*******************************************************************