Human Cloning - The Greatest Danger is Ignorance :: Cloning Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Human Cloning The Greatest risk is Ignorance The successful copy of an adult sheepin which the sheeps DNA was inserted into an unfertilized sheep ballock to producea lamb with identical DNAgene telld an outpouring of ethical concerns. Theseconcerns are not close Dolly, the now famous sheep, nor even about theconsider adapted impact cloning may claim on the creature breeding industry, but ratherabout the possibility of cloning humans. For the or so part, however, the ethicalconcerns being raised are exaggerated and misplaced, because they are establish onerroneous views about what genes are and what they can do. The danger, therefore,lies not in the power of the technology, but in the misunderstanding of itssignificance. Producing a clone of a human being would not amount to creating a carbon reproductionan automaton of the sort familiar from science fiction. It would be more careproducing a delayed identical twin. And just as identical fit are two separatepeoplebiological ly, psychologically, morally and legally, though not transmissibleallyso a clone is a separate soul from his or her non-contemporaneoustwin. To think otherwise is to embrace a belief in transmitted determinismthe viewthat genes determine everything about us, and that surroundal factors or the stochastic events in human development are utterly insignificant. The overwhelmingconsensus among geneticists is that genetic determinism is false. As geneticists have come to understand the ways in which genes operate, theyhave also become aware of the myriad ways in which the environment affects theirexpression. The genetic contribution to the simplest physical traits, such asheight and hairsbreadth color, is significantly mediated by environmental factors. Andthe genetic contribution to the traits we comfort most deeply, from intelligenceto compassion, is conceded by even the most enthusiastic genetic researchers tobe limited and indirect. Indeed, we need only appeal to our ordinary see to itwith identical twinsthat they are different people despite their similaritiesto valuate that genetic determinism is false. Furthermore, because of the extra steps involved, cloning will probably incessantlybe riskierthat is, less likely to result in a live birththan in vitrofertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer. (It took more than 275 attempts beforethe researchers were able to obtain a successful sheep clone. While cloningmethods may improve, we should honour that even standard IVF techniques typicallyhave a success rate of less than 20 percent.) So why would anyone go to thetrouble of cloning? There are, of course, a few reasons people might go to the trouble, and so itsworth pondering what they think they might accomplish, and what sort of ethical