Ethical issues of human cloning
Roman Catholicism and many conservative Christian groups have opposed human cloning and the cloning of human embryos,believing that a human life begins the moment a human egg becomes fertilized.Other Christian denominations such as the United Church of Christ do not believe a fertilized egg constitutes a living being,but still they oppose the cloning of embryonic cells.The World Council of Churches,representing nearly 400 denominations worldwide,opposed cloning of both human embryos and whole humans in February 2006.The United Methodist Church opposed research and reproductive cloning in May 2000 and again in May 2004.
Libertarian views on the subject suggest that the federal government of the United States does not have the power to regulate cloning,as it is not given any such authority by the US constitution.(Similar to abortion rights.)
At present,the main objection to human cloning is that the cloned individual may be biologically damaged,due to the inherent unreliability of its origin researchers currently are unable to safely and reliably clone non-human primates.
However,many believe that as cloning research and methods improve,concerns of safety and reliability will no longer be an issue.However,it must be pointed out that this has yet to occur,and may never occur.Rudolph Jaenisch,a professor at Harvard,has pointed out that we have become more efficient at producing clones which are still defective (Development Dynamics.Volume 235,pages 2460-2469.2006).Other arguments against cloning come from various religious orders (believing cloning violates God's will or the natural order of life),and a general discomfort some have with the idea of meddling with the creation and basic function of life.This unease often manifests itself in contemporary novels,movies,and popular culture,much like numerous other scientific discoveries and inventions before.Various fictional scenarios portray clones being unhappy,soulless,or unable to integrate into society.Furthermore,clones are often depicted not as unique individuals but as spare parts,providing organs for the clone's original (or any non-clone that requires replacement organs).
Needless to say,cloning is a poignant and important topic,reflected by its frequent discussion and debate among politicians,scientists,the media,religions,and the general public.
Cloning extinct and endangered species
Cloning,or more precisely,the reconstruction of functional DNA from extinct species has,for decades,been a dream of some scientists.The possible implications of this were dramatized in the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton and high budget Hollywood thriller Jurassic Park.In real life,one of the most anticipated targets for cloning was once the Woolly mammoth,but attempts to extract DNA from frozen mammoths have been unsuccessful,though a joint Russo-Japanese team is currently working toward this goal.
In 2000,a cow named dendi Bessie gave birth to a cloned Asian gaur,an endangered species,but the calf died after two days.In 2003,a banteng was successfully cloned,followed by three African wildcats from a thawed frozen embryo.These successes provided hope that similar techniques (using surrogate mothers of another species) might be used to clone extinct species.Anticipating this possibility,tissue samples from the last bucardo (Pyrenean Ibex) were frozen immediately after it died.Researchers are also considering cloning endangered species such as the giant panda,ocelot,and cheetah.