The Issue
When does life begin?
Whether therapeutic cloning should be allowed or not is under debate. This debate is driven by the medical advantages it brings and the ethical issues it raises.
Some people, mainly conservative Christians and individuals belonging to other religious groups, believe that the life of a human being begins from the moment of conception.(Robinson 2000) Nuclear transfer cloning technology which is used in therapeutic cloning is similar to normal conception, which occurs when a sperm from a male fertilises an ovum from a female, as it produces a diploid cell similar to a zygote.(Parson 2007) As a result, many people believe that the therapeutic cloning technology involves the production of a human being. When stem cells are extracted from the embryo at the blastocyst stage, it is killed and this is seen as murder for the pure purpose of obtaining stem cells. Only human embryo stem cells have the potential to be used for therapeutic purposes in humans and this further supports the claim that therapeutic cloning should not be used, even for medical purposes.
Whether therapeutic cloning should be allowed or not is under debate. This debate is driven by the medical advantages it brings and the ethical issues it raises.
Some people, mainly conservative Christians and individuals belonging to other religious groups, believe that the life of a human being begins from the moment of conception.(Robinson 2000) Nuclear transfer cloning technology which is used in therapeutic cloning is similar to normal conception, which occurs when a sperm from a male fertilises an ovum from a female, as it produces a diploid cell similar to a zygote.(Parson 2007) As a result, many people believe that the therapeutic cloning technology involves the production of a human being. When stem cells are extracted from the embryo at the blastocyst stage, it is killed and this is seen as murder for the pure purpose of obtaining stem cells. Only human embryo stem cells have the potential to be used for therapeutic purposes in humans and this further supports the claim that therapeutic cloning should not be used, even for medical purposes.
.
The stem cells are extracted from a blastocyst. This process kills the embryo but is it the same as the murder of a human being?
http://elinow-bioreview2.wikispaces.com/Stages+of+Embryo |
.
When does life begin? Does it begin at conception or at a later stage of development? Just because it has the potential to be human, does it mean it is human? These are some questions which enquire whether or not the destruction of a human embryo for the purpose of obtaining stem cells is ethical or not.
http://www.celebrities-with-diseases.com/celebrities/justin-bieber-abortion-remarks-taken-out-of-context-13990.html |
Those who support the concept of therapeutic cloning claim that embryos are not human beings.It is believed by supporters that the potential for human life does not mean human life. Embryos do not showcase any indication of conscious thought, a feature which is characteristic of human kind or any other animal. Supporters also believe that the medical benefits which therapeutic cloning has the potential to bring is a viable justification for the destruction of the embryos. Other arguments given by supporters of therapeutic cloning practices includes:
- Therapeutic cloning for the production of organs or tissues has many advantages over traditional organ transplant techniques(Robinson 2000)
- If the procedure is successfully completed, replacement organs which are a perfect match to the patient will be easily obtained. This would save many lives and improve the quality of life of people. (Tounzen 2005)
- Because the genetic information in the created tissue and that of the patient are identical, there would not be any risk of transplant rejection. As a result, the patient does not need to take anti rejection drugs, which could have some negative side effects, for the rest of his/her life.(Robinson 2000)
- For the transplant of organs, the organ does not have to be obtained from another individual. As a result, no individual must suffer or place their life at risk to save another.(Robinson 2000)
- A patient does not need to wait until a organ is available from the death of another individual as organs can be readily created through the technology (Tounzen 2005)
- The patient would obtain a brand new fully functioning organ and therefore will not have deal with old organs with reduced functionality(Robinson 2000)
- The process of somatic cell nuclear transfer has the potential to treat diseases such as diabetes mellitus or Parkinson's disease.(Tounzen 2005)
- By isolating human cells effected by a condition and making multiple copies of it, animal models that carry the condition can be created and research for other treatments can be done on these animals.(Tounzen 2005)
.
Therapeutic cloning has many potentials in medical treatments. Do these potentials justify the destruction of the embryo?
http://rchemistry.wikispaces.com/Miracle+Grow,+Organ+Regeneration.
http://rchemistry.wikispaces.com/Miracle+Grow,+Organ+Regeneration.
While supporters of therapeutic cloning see these possibilities in medical applications as a justification for the destruction of the embryo, those who oppose it claim that nothing is a justification for murder, that the destruction of one life for saving another is not justifiable. Opposition of therapeutic cloning argue that despite its medical potentials, it is a very inefficient and wasteful process. Other arguments which oppose therapeutic cloning includes:
- Stem cells have sometimes mutated. If stem cells mutate, they or their products will not be able to be transplanted into patients.(Robinson 2000)
- The production of stem cells is highly inefficient with the need of around 100 embryos to produce one useable stem cell line. (Tounzen 2005)
- Stem cells have produced tumors(Tounzen 2005)