For the first time the cloning of a whole human being seems really possible. It is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses. Also, it is important to understand some of the theory underlying the desire to build a better human. The ethical downside of cloning With recent developments in the cloning of the first whole mammal with Dolly the Sheep, for the first time the cloning a whole human being seems really possible. For years, clones have been the subjects of popular fiction, but the technology was lacking. Now the ethics of doing so must be carefully considered. While almost all world health and religious bodies are coming out in opposition to the idea, it must be accepted that someone somewhere will try it. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses.

What immediately springs to mind for most people with the possibility of cloning whole people is the ideas of creating supermen or a master race which dominated the Nazis. But the theories of eugenics from which they operated were also touted in America and the rest of the Western world. Thus, it is important to understand some of the theory underly

Another ethical concern is the unknown ramifications for the clones themselves. It is known that over a lifetime, DNA can degrade within a person, causing changes in the sequence as continued replication takes a toll. Where cloning takes place with adult DNA, it is not yet known whether this would affect the life span of the child created (Herbert, Sheler, and Watson). Also at issue is the possibility that clones would be more subject to disease, and indeed that humanity itself might have greater susceptibility if cloning were to become widespread. Science has long known that when living things share the exact same genetic structure, they become much more vulnerable to viral diseases. Sexual reproduction with its combining of the genes of both parents helps keep the immune system vital and holds communicable diseases at bay. With the increase in killer viruses, this is of major concern (Kenen). If cloning takes place before sufficient animal studies are undertaken, then there !

With cloning, potentially it would be up to some kind of population engineers like the eugenicists to determine what kind of people should be allowed to take over humanity (Kluger and Thompson). There are two general possibilities in today's society for cloning abuses: first is the abuse, fostered by groups or governments, and second is the abuses, by individuals for their own personal reasons. The examples of the Eugenics Movements and the Nazi policies fall into the former category. Because of the horrors already displayed there and the evil attached to them, the chances of wide scale governmental cloning are less likely. Already, most of the major world health organizations and a number of governments have moved to ban such cloning in order to prevent a reoccurrence of the kind of wrongheaded thinking which would use cloning to build armies or create a super-race. For example, France and Germany have called for total bans on human cloning, citing the precedents of the Nazi past the dangers of abuse of the process (Thomasson). Germany, in fact, has a ban on cloning in place. In the United States, there are bills pending in both houses of Congress to ban cloning, and a new National Bio-ethics Advisory Commission is currently examining cloning's moral and legal implications. Various states have also proposed legislation banning further testing or research into human cloning (Stolberg). In addition, the World Health Organization, a part of the United Nations, has called for a total ban, as has the Vatican.

Another disturbing possibility with cloning is the control of the source of the DNA. Since everyone gives off cells all the time naturally, as in lost hairs or skin cells, it is conceivable that a person could be cloned without their knowledge or consent. Each cell given off contains a full complement of DNA. Even such things as blood samples or a trip to the dentist could be the source for such activity. While such action would be essentially criminal, there is no way to stop it from a scientific standpoint. Such "drive-by" cloning could allow people to fulfill a number of fantasies for the unscrupulous. The commercial value of an athletic pedigree or a well known singing voice, or the ability to have children of otherwise impossible parents would make such cloning attractive to certain segments of society who prey on others for money (Herbert, Sheler, and Watson). Similarly, it is theoretically possible to clone the dead.

ing the desire to build a better human. Eugenics is co

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