Thread: Why is cloning "profoundly wrong"?

So, while passing the embryonic stem cell research go-ahead bill, Obama also says of cloning

"It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society,"

So, people of reason, why is embryonic stem cell research OK, but cloning is not?

Or is Mr. Obama wrong, and cloning should be allowed?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

So, while passing the embryonic stem cell research go-ahead bill, Obama also says of cloning



So, people of reason, why is embryonic stem cell research OK, but cloning is not?

Or is Mr. Obama wrong, and cloning should be allowed?

it's wrong because he doesn't like it and is projecting his own insecurities onto the nation.


haven't you heard? he's the new Decider, and will be doing all the Decidering from now on.

There are at least 2 sides to this issue.

One side says that clones are people and should be afforded the rights that are afforded to all humans.

The other camp says that as long as they do not have life then it is ok.

I believe that I would like a clone of my organs or other body parts though not as a whole. Just my arms in an arm bank, liver in a liver bank, etc.

I do not think it is right to produce a body and "prune" it as the need arises.

Something about a body as a whole is sacred to me and not in the religious sense. I would feel more at ease if my arm was torn off and the Arm bank sent my other arm to me for replacement rather than sawing off the arm of my whole body.

I think it would be nice to have all your parts cloned in a warehouse someplace. There is one part I would have retrieved already. Wouldn't it be great if we had a backup of all our memories and could retrieve them. Wow a backup brain. I am for cloning.

bj

Cloning is not wrong. Neither is stem cell research.

How we use those techniques and for what purposes might very well be wrong, but all the more reason to allow open research. If you ban it, you risk it being abused (like the rogue Italian Professor, I forget the details, or the fraudulent results that were reported).

Splitting the atom eventually led to the A-bomb, as well as atomic energy. The research leading to both these developments was not wrong, but the way the research knowledge was used led to two very different outcomes.

Anyway, who are we kidding? There's no stopping scientific progress. Banning cloning or stem cell research today is like King Cannute trying to stop the incoming tide.

Before the discussion goes too far, you might want to consider the distinction between reproductive cloning, which would be done to make a person, and therapeutic cloning, which would be done strictly for the purpose of making embryonic stem cells.

I kind of hate these debates, because the argument is pretty much moot. Legislative debates about banning or allowing a technology that doesn't exist yet just isn't the best use of time and effort.

Originally Posted by 2Sharp

I think it would be nice to have all your parts cloned in a warehouse someplace. There is one part I would have retrieved already. Wouldn't it be great if we had a backup of all our memories and could retrieve them. Wow a backup brain. I am for cloning.

bj

How do you think the "Warehouse you" would feel about that arrangement?

Originally Posted by majurey

Cloning is not wrong. Neither is stem cell research.

How we use those techniques and for what purposes might very well be wrong, but all the more reason to allow open research. If you ban it, you risk it being abused (like the rogue Italian Professor, I forget the details, or the fraudulent results that were reported).

Splitting the atom eventually led to the A-bomb, as well as atomic energy. The research leading to both these developments was not wrong, but the way the research knowledge was used led to two very different outcomes.

Anyway, who are we kidding? There's no stopping scientific progress. Banning cloning or stem cell research today is like King Cannute trying to stop the incoming tide.

The A-bomb led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Atiomic power led to Three mile Island and Chernobyl. Is that what we're saying?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

The A-bomb led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

wonder how many American lives were saved by those two events, hm???

Originally Posted by jockeys

wonder how many American lives were saved by those two events, hm???

Not too many. Japan was about ready to surrender to Russia, but we couldn't have that now could we?

Originally Posted by 2Sharp

I think it would be nice to have all your parts cloned in a warehouse someplace.

Unnecessary. They can now turn your skin cells into your stem cells and then into any organ you need!

I think it's just fine if America wants to ban new Scientific research techniques. The rest of the world can continue along the path of ethical rationalism and Americans will still pay for the benefits gained therewith.

But to answer the question a little; current clones have early and severe medical issues. That's wrong when you know that's the case before you start. There are no laws governing the rights of full grown human clones so that would need to be established if the technology got better, but the real issue is that most cloning would only led to tissue creation, not a whole person and as I've already pointed out, stem cell research has already lead there.

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