Cloning moral opinions

[Travis Is Losing It]

This is a Human cloning debate. The current state of it Is illegal in the united states. Even though i'm possitive that we already have tried and failed/succeeded. I personally believe that human cloning done for studies of people with "abilities" such as autistic savants (might have spelled wrong) complete geniuses and people like that could be a really good use. But in another opinion of mine its sort of a "god complex" where creating new artificial life is wrong (based on my christian views). The use of clones that have been possibly altered to not feel pain and keep going for something such as war would also be a good idea. Accepting all opinions :)

[Schizothemia]

The big reason why cloning is banned is because if memory serves it does require quite a bit of stem cell research. Not that that is a problem for me, it's an issue that a lot of Americans don't like to look at.

However cloning does through out some interesting questions and ethical connundrums.

Firstly is overpopulation. Our world is over populated as is, should we really be trying to clone individuals? Some would argue that we should if it means great ways test and research humans, but that brings up a whole other issue: clone's rights.

Even if an individual is a clone of someones genetic material, should they not be granted some form of rights? Should they not be granted the privelages of a human being, since they are a clone of one in the first place? Then comes the question of what would a person do should they find out they are a clone. It's not like finding out your adopted, finding out your a clone would be a massively life changing discovery.

Just a couple interesting questions I'd like to raise.

[DerBear]

In my mind cloning would be Ok

As long and the "clone" and the people who had the DNA taken from them were not hurt in anyway and the clones could live free once they have perfected it and choose there own lives

If during the trial and process stage clones that were alive and breathing had to be killed for some reason...they should be killed in a safe and painless way

As long as no one suffers and the postives outweighed the negitive by A LOT Then i would find it Ok

Also i dont think we should first consult religion on this as not everyone is religous. And science now dominates religon in so many ways

[Iris]

I have as big problem with the ethics of cloning. The clone will have a huge identity crisis, having no real family, being created by a bunch of scientists, no real identity, to be monitored for the rest of his/her life. The person being cloned may agree to it, but the clone obviously can't. It's not fair to them. Of course in this case I'm talking about cloning a full grown person, not a baby (as babies born through birth aren't really given much of a choice either). The clone will have the exact same capability to think and feel as regular humans, so you'd have to treat him/her with the same respect and care, which would be unlikely in a world with so much discrimination.

Furthermore, to create clones to be soldiers or used in scientific experiments is cruel. They are still human. They have emotions. They should be allowed to make choices. They should be treated like any other human, and that is unlikely to happen.To erase any emotions in the clone (if that's even possible) is cruel as well. They have the right to think and feel. The fact that they are clones doesn't make them any less human. Also I honestly believe that clones would not be accepted into society. People would shun them. Especially religious people. They may have to remain in a lab or secure facility their whole lives just to escape the people who'd consider clones 'abominations.' That is no way to live.

Another ethical issue is the outcome when cloning is abused. If you read House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer, you'll know what I mean. People would take advantage of clones, use them and abuse them. No one should have to suffer like that.

[Korashk]

Of course in this case I'm talking about cloning a full grown person, not a baby.
What do you mean by this? A cloned full grown person would obviously first be a cloned baby. It's not like clones would be any different than other humans.

[Iris]

What do you mean by this? A cloned full grown person would obviously first be a cloned baby. It's not like clones would be any different than other humans.

I was thinking about a time way in the future when it might be possible to literally build humans (skin, bone etc.) using someone else's DNA as a guide. Now that I think about it I'm not sure it was so relevant.

[HaydenM]

I would only think cloning would be okay for research or for whole body transplants, otherwise I see it as unneeded.

[Azunite]

...talking as if we can clone humans now...

[Sith Lord 13]

...talking as if we can clone humans now...

We're not as far as you think.

Anyway, there are two major problems with cloning.

1) The justification. Most of a person's makeup is their experiences, not their genetics. A cloned Michael Jordan might not even like basketball, let alone be any good at it.

2) The detriment. A cloned person who is taken from a 40yo's genetic material will have the health problems of a 60yo when they're 20. That's not fair to the clone.

The only reason for cloning in my mind is the cloning of single organs.