Human Cloning – Another Giant Leap By Mankind, This Time On Earth!

Human cloning, in layman terms, means creating a replica of a person. Scientifically speaking, human cloning is defined as producing a genetically identical replica of a human cell, tissue, or a complete body. Thus, the cloned person has exactly the same DNA structure leading to identical features and traits.

The first ever organism that was cloned by scientists was a sheep named Dolly. Human cloning will also be done through the same technique of reproductive cloning that was used for Dolly. Reproductive cloning involves removing the nucleus from the cell of an organism that is to be cloned and inserting it into an enucleated egg (the egg whose nucleus has been removed).

This egg is then given chemical or electric treatment to activate cell division. The embryo that is formed consequently is relocated to a host uterus for its normal growth and development, so that it is born as a complete organism. The newly born organism will be the clone of the original organism. But, it will not be true-to-type, as it will derive DNA from the egg as well as the host organism.

The Purpose Of Human Cloning

Cloning of animals provides an opportunity to preserve their species from getting extinct. Hence, this technique is particularly useful for endangered species. But the major question that arises is: why is there a need for human cloning? Debaters across the world have ridiculed the idea stating it to be an absurd thought, as already the world is teeming with people and the earth’s resources are getting depleted to fulfill the needs of existing “original” population. Cloning would lead to the doubling of population, creating a human catastrophe on planet Earth.

But, scientists all over the world have assured that human cloning will be used purely for scientific purpose. For the scientists who have successfully cloned various animals like sheep, cats, pigs, and cows, it seems to be a logical step to put humans in the line next.

According to scientists, human cloning would bring a revolution in the world of therapeutic science. It can be used to create new organs that can be used for transplants. There would be lower risk of rejection of the transplanted organ by the body, as the cloned organ would have been created from the cell of the patient requiring transplant and, thus, have similar genetic code. The patients of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and other such diseases would get a ray of hope through this new breakthrough in science.

Another biggest hope that human cloning would provide is to childless couples. This technique will allow them to have babies from their own genes. Also, normal couples can order designer babies having characteristics desired by the parents. Another wonderful act that cloning can perform is give life to dead people, provided their body cell samples have been preserved at the time of death. This may seem a rather bizarre idea. Also, people wanting to clone themselves to become eternal may have to face the wrath of ethical groups.

The Human Cloning Controversy

Eminent scientists like Richard Gardner and Ian Wilmut, who are involved in the research for cloning, have expressed their concern over ethical issues looming over human cloning. First of all, it is not as easy as it seems to be to clone an organism. It takes many trials and errors to produce an organism exactly similar to the original one.

Dolly sheep was created after 272 attempts! This means 272 embryos had failed or were found defective. Even if the embryos developed, the cloned animals born showed greater defects and died within a short period after birth. Some were given euthanasia. Again, those animals that were successfully cloned, as claimed by the scientists, have not lived to see the old age till now.

When it comes to human cloning, there are many complexities involved. Humans are regarded as a higher class of animals, with a developed mind that reasons and thinks. Hence, there are bound to be moral issues while treating abnormal new-borns or embryos, or physically challenged cloned babies. Scientists have just freshly discovered a way to clone humans. They are yet to find out the long term changes happening inside the body and mind of a cloned person. Speaking in layman terms, cloning a person is a huge risk.

Besides, nobody, not even the scientists, can take guarantee of the human intelligence and emotions. There is a huge controversy surrounding the behavior pattern of a cloned human. The questions that have arisen are: will a cloned person proved to be a good citizen? What if he or she gets anti-social thoughts in the mind and turns out to be dangerous to the human race? There are chances that a cloned person may consider himself or herself GOD and enslave the existing human population. This may seem to be an excerpt from a sci-fi movie, but there are possibilities of it coming true. After all, wasn’t human cloning a fiction until now? Now, it has become a reality.

Recently, a fertility doctor, named Panayiotis Zavos, based in the US, has claimed to have transferred 11 cloned embryos into the wombs of four women. He has created 14 embryos in total. In an interview published in Independent newspaper of Britain, the doctor has confidently claimed that the first ever cloned baby would be born within a couple of years. Although scientists have earlier cloned human embryos in vitro (in test tubes) for the purpose of extracting stem cells for research, Dr. Zavos has gone a step further by implanting them in an actual womb. However, he is condemned by the mainstream doctors about the technique used, safety, and ethics of this act.

Legal Issues

Reproductive human cloning has been banned in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and other countries across the globe. However, therapeutic cloning is given permission to some extent, amidst stiff protest by the religious institutions and pro-life bodies, who are more into theological studies than scientific ones.

It is clear that scientists will have a hard time convincing the religious groups about the merits of human cloning. Till then, the fingers are crossed…