Thursday, March 23, 2017

To Clone or Not to Clone, That is the Question

I was not that impressed by either set of arguments related to human cloning because I think it is probably a more complex issue than a short FAQ can answer. But I do believe that science’s ability to do something sometimes runs ahead of whether or not it should do it. For instance, the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer really regretted being the father of the atomic bomb later. 

I don’t think cloning would destroy the world, but Never Let Me Go raises one of the biggest objections, which is that human beings are generally not kind to people they consider inferior. I could imagine that there would be serious concerns about how we treat cloned people. The characters in the book so far seem mostly resigned to their fate as donors, but they were raised that way with no other options. Unlike in the novel, I think that it is more likely scientists would work to clone individual organs rather than whole human beings – in terms of organ donation, that seems like a much better option. 

1 comment:

  1. I appreciate your thoughts on the ethics of cloning. I agree that if cloning does become a reality, clones probably will not be treated with equitably with other people. I think your idea about just cloning human organs is a much better and more human idea.

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