Cloning: What is Going On?

Cloning is defined as a process in which an identical copy of an original is made and it is also said that when a clone is made that the entire DNA is same between the two. There are many different types of cloning. The types are embryo cloning, adult DNA cloning and therapeutic cloning. The cloning that I will be focusing on in this essay will be Adult DNA cloning, also known as reproductive cloning. "Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing human or growing cloned tissue from that individual" this is used to describe artificial cloning. Cloning is done for mass production of organisms that have a desired quality. An example that was given was a sheep being cloned for human insulin production. Cloning has also used to produce plants. During this essay I hope to discourage people about cloning humans.

The cloning process is "the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replication genetic element". To clone an animal you have to take DNA from an ovum and replace it with the DNA from a cell removed from an adult animal and then the fertilized ovum, also known as a pre-embryo, is fertilized and implanted into the womb. The DNA then grows into "a genetically identical" sheep of the donor. "Only the clone's chromosomal or nuclear DNA is the same as the donor" but it is the same DNA. This is a very complicated and costly process.

The first animal that was cloned was a tadpole in 1952 by John Gurdon. Since then animals that have been cloned include sheep, goats, cows, mice, cats, pigs, rabbits and gaurs. The first mammal that was known was named Dolly. Dolly was born July 5, 1996 and died February 14, 2003. She was cloned in Scotland by Ian Wilmut and his colleagues and was cloned from a six-year old ewe. Dolly grew to full term and had offspring. Another animal that was cloned on January 8, 2001 was a gaur which is a large wild ox from India . When they cloned the gaur they were trying to demonstrate that even the endangered species can be saved by cloning . Many people are probably thinking well if they can clone all of those animals then why have they not cloned humans? The following paragraph will explain a few reasons as to which humans have not been cloned just yet.

There have been problems with cloning animals though. The success rate of cloning is very low. In fact it took Ian Wilmut 277 eggs to create Dolly. It has taken 9,000 attempts to create 70 calves. "More than 90% of cloning attempts fail" and that is not a very successful rate at all. That is one out of every ten tries. Also, in a lot of the animals that have been produced there have been medical issues with the clones. Issues such as infections, tumors, and other disorders. "About a third of the cloned calves born alive have died young and many of them were abnormally large". Many times also when the clones die there is not a cause of death determined. To me this is something that would cause more problems then help. To have more children and animals born with deformities in which families give them up for adoption rather than taking them in and loving them. Lets face it in today's world there are a lot irresponsible people and a lot of people that do not want to take care of their actions. Also, cloning would cause death rates to sore.

The American government definitely has its in which what and where cloning may occur. Many states do not fund cloning with government monies or do not allow animal cloning at all. The states that prohibit cloning are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Virginia. The states that allow cloning but prohibit the use of government funds are Arizona and Missouri. That is many states that do not want this type of thing going on. There are always two sides as to why or why not something should go on. The Liberals believe that cloning is a way to allow people to "turn chance into choice". Conservatives see cloning as something that will create a "disposing" of humans for tissues and organs. The conservatives seem to have the right idea. When these human clones are created and we kill them is it not murder? What happens when we have thousands of clones around? How will we be able to tell whether someone is real or not? Are we going to put them all in one area and leave them there? Are we going to tattoo them with a number so that we know who is real? How will we take care of a clone?

Humans should not be cloned. If we start cloning people we are creating a way for humans to stop reproducing. People evolve over time and if we start taking away human's way of recreating itself then we may one day evolve into something that relies on cloning rather than procreation. Also, if we are just going to use these clones for parts then we will be killing them once they are created. Will the clones not breathe or have personalities? This is just not right. Murder is not right.