Cloning and the Future Doom - Essay Example

I believe cloning is treading on thin ice, danger lurks below the surface; it is like opening a Pandora's Box. Dr Patrick Dixon has written several articles that prove the disadvantages of cloning (http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm). He enumerates three reasons why we should say no to cloning: health risks from mutation of genes; emotional risks; and the risk of abuse of the technology. An abnormal baby is one possible result of cloning since the material used is taken from an adult, there is a tendency that the newborn baby will have adult genes.

According to Dixon, "Many attempts at animal cloning produced disfigured monsters with severe abnormalities." He adds, "Dolly the Sheep died prematurely of severe lung disease in February 2003, and also suffered from arthritis at an unexpectedly early age - probably linked to the cloning process." The many abnormal results are aborted and terminated by the researchers for fear that they would grow to be dangerous beings. Secondly, Dixon illustrates that the cloned person will be faced with a number of problems in relating with the other members of the family and the community and vice versa.

Confusion that is brought about by the usual relationships as brother, sister, mother and father and even twins will have to be dealt with. For instance, how can a father relate to his daughter who is a clone of his wife, and how will the other members of the family relate to a clone of their dead brother or sister Finally, there is the risk of abuse of the technology where certain powerful leaders in every generation will be tempted to "seek to abuse this technology for their own purposes." Dixon adds, "You cannot have so-called therapeutic cloning without reproductive cloning because the technique to make cloned babies is the same as to make a cloned embryo to try to make replacement tissues" (http://www.

globalchange.com/noclones.htm).Obviously, the aforementioned disadvantages are solid reasons for me to believe that cloning does not promise a brilliant and safe future. Although most of the cloning researches are aimed at alleviating solutions to scientific and medical problems, more danger is in store for the coming generation. What if the abnormal clones will not be controlled and terminated at an early stage According to scholars, certain abnormalities are not detected at an early stage. Some may take twenty or more years to manifest.

What will happen to the emotional make-up of the clones Can they ever live normal and happy lives when they appear to intrude into the normal and natural means of family reproduction and relations There will be a need for more psychologists to cater to the clones' emotional and psychological needs. Lastly, is cloning technology safe enough from possible abuse of powerful leaders who may want to use it for their personal purposes Life is sacred. Human beings are created in the image of God. Each individual is endowed with unique characteristics that even identical twins are not really identical in many ways.

Creating a replica of a person close to you or a loved one does not assure that the clone will behave and react in the same way as the original. Just recently, my brother died of vehicular accident. It was so sudden that we were not even able to tell him how much we love him. My other brother did not even have a chance to be reconciled with him. Such a loss was so intense that until now we still grieve so much for