Human Cloning Essay -- Clones, Cloning Essays

Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible r eality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons ¡Ã‚ ¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W... ...nkind, ¡Ã‚ ¨ Time (June 21-27): 63-76. Grolier, Thomas. Can We Still Talk. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Hamilton, Bernard. Cloning of embryos. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1991. Habgood, John.  ¡Ã‚ §Manipulating mankind. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Nature, Vol. 365 September 23, 1993: 3 04. Kolberg, Rebecca.  ¡Ã‚ §Human Embryo Cloning Reported. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, October 29, 1993, Vol.262: 652-653. McCormick, Richard A.  ¡Ã‚ §Should we clone humans? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Christian Century, November 17- 24, 1993: 1148-1149. P. J.  ¡Ã‚ §The pros and cons of freedom of access to human genome data ¡Ã‚ ¨, Nature, Vol. 333 June 23, 1988: 692. McKinnell, Robert. Cloning: A Biologist Reports. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Radford, Tim.  ¡Ã‚ §Designing the Next Generation. ¡Ã‚ ¨ World Press Review, March 1994: 22-23. Rorvik, David. In His Image. New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1992. Shah, Dilip M.  ¡Ã‚ §Engineering Herbicide Tolerance in Transgenic Plants. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, July 25, 1986: 478. Watson, Traci.  ¡Ã‚ §Seeking the wonder in a mote of dust. ¡Ã‚ ¨ U.S. News & World Report, October 3, 1994: 66. Voelker, Roger B.  ¡Ã‚ §Who ¡Ã‚ ¦s Afraid of the Human Genome? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Hastings Center Report, July/August 1989: 19-21. Human Cloning Essay -- Clones, Cloning Essays Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible r eality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons ¡Ã‚ ¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W... ...nkind, ¡Ã‚ ¨ Time (June 21-27): 63-76. Grolier, Thomas. Can We Still Talk. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Hamilton, Bernard. Cloning of embryos. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1991. Habgood, John.  ¡Ã‚ §Manipulating mankind. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Nature, Vol. 365 September 23, 1993: 3 04. Kolberg, Rebecca.  ¡Ã‚ §Human Embryo Cloning Reported. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, October 29, 1993, Vol.262: 652-653. McCormick, Richard A.  ¡Ã‚ §Should we clone humans? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Christian Century, November 17- 24, 1993: 1148-1149. P. J.  ¡Ã‚ §The pros and cons of freedom of access to human genome data ¡Ã‚ ¨, Nature, Vol. 333 June 23, 1988: 692. McKinnell, Robert. Cloning: A Biologist Reports. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Radford, Tim.  ¡Ã‚ §Designing the Next Generation. ¡Ã‚ ¨ World Press Review, March 1994: 22-23. Rorvik, David. In His Image. New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1992. Shah, Dilip M.  ¡Ã‚ §Engineering Herbicide Tolerance in Transgenic Plants. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, July 25, 1986: 478. Watson, Traci.  ¡Ã‚ §Seeking the wonder in a mote of dust. ¡Ã‚ ¨ U.S. News & World Report, October 3, 1994: 66. Voelker, Roger B.  ¡Ã‚ §Who ¡Ã‚ ¦s Afraid of the Human Genome? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Hastings Center Report, July/August 1989: 19-21.