Cloning Human Body Parts has the Potential to Save Lives
Cloning human body parts has the potential to save lives.
So…
Why are we not using therapeutic cloning to save more lives?
Dolly
Cloning first became an issue in 1997 when scientists successfully cloned a sheep, Dolly.
Dolly was the project that first caused cloning to become a problem to the state and national governments.
Cloning became a national problem when President Clinton issued an executive memorandum banning the use of federal funds for the purpose of cloning.
Cloning became a state problem when different states started making their own laws with reference to cloning.
State Legislation
Definitions
| Arkansas, Iowa, and Michigan
| California, Louisiana, and Rhode Island
|
---|---|---|
Therapeutic- Used as therapy for a disease
| No therapeutic cloning
| Allows therapeutic cloning
|
Reproductive- Used to create a human being
| No reproductive cloning
| No reproductive cloning
|
The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behavior control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers.
— Lewis ThomasView of political parties
Democrats want to ban only reproductive cloning and allow therapeutic and research cloning.
Republicans want to ban human reproductive cloning and research cloning.
Success of Solution
Federal
| State
|
---|---|
I feel the federal solution was not successful. It banned federal funding for cloning. I believe this was the wrong approach; President Clinton should have limited the use of federal funds for therapeutic use only.
| I mostly agree with California, Louisiana, and Rhode Island’s laws. I think that therapeutic cloning should be encouraged for its potential to save lives.
|
Banning human cloning reflects our humanity. It is the right thing to do. Creating a child through this new method calls into question our most fundamental beliefs. It has the potential to threaten the sacred family bonds at the very core of our ideals and our society. At its worst, it could lead to misguided and malevolent attempts to select certain traits, even to create certain kind of children -- to make our children objects rather than cherished individuals.
— BILL CLINTON, speech, June 9, 1997Special interest groups
- European Group on ethics and new technologies (EGE)
- Animal welfare group against animal cloning for the purpose of being sold as food.
- The Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG)and Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
- Calling for Congress to ban human cloning .
- Americans to Ban Cloning (ABC)
- They promote a global ban on human cloning for any purpose.
New Legislation
President Obama has issued an executive order that removes certain limits on federally funded human embryo research.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the proposed guidelines for funding research projects. Scientists may use stem cells taken from human embryos which were created through in vitro fertilization (IVF), if it is donated by parents who no longer wish to use the embryos to establish a pregnancy.
Citizen Action
To gain funding for therapeutic cloning I would contact one of the Ohio senators.
I would send a letter to Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown. I would request that they vote pro-cloning on the issue of therapeutic cloning.
I would also contact the democratic party by email to request that they help fund medical research into therapeutic cloning.
Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped having children naturally, and instead produced clones of themselves. What would the world be like in another 20 or 30 years? The answer is: much like today. Cloning would only copy the genetic aspects of people who are already here.
— Nathan MyhrvoldTherapeutic cloning in 10 years
I predict that therapeutic cloning will become a more popular means to treat patients.
Cloning may progress to the point where it will be legal to clone human body parts to be used as surgical replacements.
This could help people that needed a replacement heart valve and had to have a mechanical valve implanted. Patients would have the option of receiving a real heart valve which was cloned from their own heart.
There are two kinds of cloning right now. One is therapeutic cloning which is for coming up with cures for life threatening, really, really awful diseases. Then there is reproductive cloning, which is to make a human being out of your DNA and a donor egg.
— Mary Tyler MooreReproductive cloning in 10 years
I predict that reproductive cloning will remain an issue because of the ethical issues it presents.
In my mind the laws on reproductive cloning will continue to be changed over the course of the next ten years.
This is because each new president will have their own beliefs on the idea of cloning
This type of cloning is an issue I believe will be debated by the government for many years.
My Solution
The government should take a more active role in therapeutic cloning.
Therapeutic cloning should be an available option to people needing a mechanical implant or a treatment that could be helped with the use of therapeutic cloning.
The government should also ban human reproductive cloning for ethical reasons.
I'm trying to grow more limbs in order to multitask at a greater rate and I'm also investigating the possibilities of cloning. Because nothing would be more useful than having multiples of me, and that way, I could do all of the things I'd like to do in the short amount of time we all have here.
— Ezra MillerBibliography
law.umaryland.edu
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/crsreports/crsdocuments/RS21517.pdf
ncsl.org
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/human-cloning-laws.aspx
medterms.com
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=18428
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=26133
geneticsandsociety.org
nrlc.org
http://www.nrlc.org/news/2009/NRL05/CloningLegislation.html
http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=305
etcgroup.org
http://www.etcgroup.org/en/node/442