Quote:
Originally posted by Gaxx_Firkraag
Not only is this kind of WRONG, but what will happen to the child? Will it be a "normal" human? Or is this some kind of test?  |
Assuming the child is brought to term alive, there is no practical difference between it and an in vitro fertilisation. A clone is simply someone who has the exact same DNA as another person, and in this case was not brought into existence as the result of being an identical twin.
The larger question here is this: What is the motivation behind the scientists who are bringing these children into the world?
Is it for the betterment of humankind?
Is it because they want to breed a genetically "superior" person?
Is it simply because they can?
Cloning does hold some interesting and beneficial implications (ie-being able to grow a replacement organ or limb for transplant and not having to rely on organs which someone's body may reject). I have expressed my reservations about cloning on this forum, yet I am not naive enough to believe the someone won't conduct cloning experiments just because Dubya and the Christian right say no one should. The news that our friend Maharlika brings us shows the world that the reseach
will be done, whether we like it or not, and whether the general population of the world wants it or not.
It is my opinion that the best way for this research to be done is above board with as much transparency as possible and as many spoons in the pot as possible. If the worldwide scientific community does not sanction and monitor cloning research, there will surely be some sort of secret government scientific community doing the reasearch with less oversight and very loose moral controls.
Cloning is much like fission technology or nerve gas; we cannot "un-invent" it. The genie is out of the bottle and there's no putting it back. The quickest way for it to get out of control is to drive it underground. I am not advocating doing anything and everything related to cloning, but the worldwide scientific community must be involved in the monitoring and direction of all research that takes place, and that research must not be forced underground and out of the public eye.