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

Human Cloning The Greatest Danger is Ignorance The fortunate cloning of an adult sheepin which the sheeps DNA was inserted into an unfertilized sheep egg to reveala lamb with indistinguishable DNAgenerated an outpouring of estimable concerns. Theseconcerns atomic number 18 not about Dolly, the now famous sheep, nor steady about the capacious impact cloning may have on the animal demeanor industry, but ratherabout the possibility of cloning servicemans. For the some part, however, the ethicalconcerns being raised are exaggerated and misplaced, because they are based onerroneous views about what genes are and what they can do. The danger, therefore,lies not in the function of the technology, but in the misunderstanding of itssignificance. Producing a clone of a human being would not amount to creating a carbon copyan living dead of the sort familiar from science fiction. It would be more likeproducing a delayed identical twin. And just as identical twins are two separatepeo plebiologically, psychologically, morally and legally, though not communicableallyso a clone is a separate person from his or her non-contemporaneoustwin. To think otherwise is to embrace a belief in inheritable determinismthe viewthat genes determine everything about us, and that environmental factors or therandom events in human development are utterly insignificant. The overwhelmingconsensus among genicists is that genetic determinism is false. As geneticists have come to understand the ways in which genes operate, theyhave as well become aware of the myriad ways in which the environment affects theirexpression. The genetic contribution to the simplest physical traits, such asheight and hair color, is importantly mediated by environmental factors. Andthe genetic contribution to the traits we value 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 expe riencewith identical twinsthat they are different people despite their similaritiesto appreciate that genetic determinism is false. Furthermore, because of the extra steps involved, cloning will probably alwaysbe riskierthat is, less(prenominal) likely to result in a live bearthan in vitrofertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer. (It took more than 275 attempts beforethe researchers were able to take for a successful sheep clone. While cloningmethods may improve, we should note 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 its deserving pondering what they think they might accomplish, and what sort of ethical