Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Cloning In the past few years, the topic of cloning has been in the news a lot. It is a very controversial issue, with many opposing viewpoints. While some find it acceptable, others object for religious reasons. A big concern is the possibility of abuse of this new technology. One of the big questions is "Where will we stop?" We may start by just experimenting and studying, but then what? Manufacturing human bodies for spare parts? No one can be sure where it will stop. The Supreme court says that everyone has the right to make their own reproductive decisions without government interference, but now it is proposing bans on human cloning. These bans prevent the very research needed to make cloning safe (Eibert). So, it seems that the government is not giving human cloning a chance. There are many benefits to cloning in the fields of fertility, organ transplants, and fighting disease. Although there are many benefits, the possible effects and moral considerations are too great for us to cont inue experimentation. Â  Benefits One of the major benefits of cloning technology is improvement in the field of fertility. In vitro fertilization only has a success rate of about 10%. To improve effectiveness, doctors could clone embryos, and the success rate could drastically increase (Masci 413). Another benefit in the field of fertility is that parents unable to conceive naturally, even with in vitro, or people too old to conceive, could still have a genetically related child (Masci 413-414). With cloning, egg and sperm would not be necessary for reproduction, because any body cell would work (Eibert). The resulting offspring would actually be a replica of one parent (Masci 413-414). Other benefits to using cloning come in the field of fighting disease. When genes are not in use, they become dormant. In order for cloning to take place, all genes must be active. Discovering how genes are turned on and off could lead to treatment for different cancers (Masci 414). Cloning could also revolutionize the field of organ transplant. Organs and bone marrow could be cloned and used for transplant. Thousands of people die waiting for transplants, so this could save many lives. In addition, the organs used in the transplant could come from the same patient, reducing the risk of rejection by the body (Masci 414). To treat heart attack victims, doctors could clone healthy heart cells and inject them into damaged areas of the heart (Masci 415).