REPRODUCTIVE

CLONING AND STEM

CELL RESEARCH
Paloma Thom

History

The first cloning was of Dolly the sheep in 1997.

o The process used to produce Dolly was called
somatic cell nuclear transfer, somatic meaning a body
cell other than sperm or egg cell
o The DNA of a somatic cell is put into the nucleus
of an egg cell, this stimulates a shock in the egg, and
the egg begins to divide. After going through mitosis
many times, an early stage embryo with almost
identical DNA to the host is created. Although
younger, Dolly was a genetic twin to the sheep.
o The experiment is still not complete, we are yet to
learn if Dolly will remain healthy, or fall ill to serious
illness.

Dolly and Friends

Dolly, being a clone, was conceived in

a test tube. Once appearing to
develop normally she was placed in a
surrogate mother to grow. Dolly and
her surrogate mother are shown

Attempting to create a seemingly

normal life for Dolly, she and a ram
were paired. Together the two
produced one lamb, then twins,
then triplets. Above Dolly and her
first lamb are shown.

Details

- Unlike traditional reproduction, somatic cell

nuclear transfer requires only one parent, and
does not require an existing embryo.
- Reproductive cloning produces a genetic copy
of an already existing being
- Human cloning is almost universally opposed;
many countries, although not the United States,
prohibit human cloning what so ever.
o Animal cloning is seldom successful, and
psychological concern for a cloned child must be
considered.

Reproductive vs. Therapeutic

Depicted

Reproducti
ve

Therapeuti
c

Details

Reproductive cloning is for the

purpose of creating another human
being. Therapeutic cloning is for the
purpose of creating stem cells in order to
treat diseases such as Alzheimers.
Heath risks and the likelihood of
loss of life are almost guaranteed when
it comes to human reproductive cloning.
If a human cloning operation were a
success, we would not know the
psychological effects it would have on
the clone, along with the human being
cloned. Controversy over philosophies of
human identity and eugenics keep
human cloning from being practiced.

Conditions on Development

- The federal government never

banned stem cell research, but did
put restrictions on federal funding for
it. Scientists cannot use government
money to create new embryonic
stem cell lines, for it involves the
destruction of embryos, a topic
involving much ethical debate. There
are no regulations on the research
itself, so if one has access to private
funding, that area of science is wide

Prospects of Reproductive
Cloning

Reproductive cloning is extremely expensive and

highly inefficient.
o Experts have predicted the cost of a human clone
would be about $250,000.
o It is highly unlikely human cloning would yield
much profit. In the long-term it could prospectively
evolve the human race into a higher-functioning
society, but in the short term it has little to no positive
economic effect.
o Restrictions on federal funding for embryonic
stem cell research have been lifted, but research must
follow strict guidelines to ensure ethical morality.
o 45 countries have banned reproductive cloning,
and it is almost universally frowned upon. Although
research has been done on it, reproductive cloning is
mostly just a prospective theory for scientists to

National Institutes of Health Stem

Cell Research Funding 2002 2013
Human Stem Cells

Non-Human Stem Cells

Year

Embryonic

Non-Embryonic

Embryonic

Non-Embryonic

2002

$10.1

$170.9

$71.5

$134.1

2003

$20.3

$190.7

$113.5

$192.1

2004

$24.3

$203.2

$89.3

$235.7

2005

$39.6

$199.4

$97.1

$273.2

2006

$37.8

$206.1

$110.4

$288.7

2007

$42.1

$203.5

$105.9

$305.9

2008

$88.1

$297.2

$149.7

$497.4

2009

$22.7

$57.9

$29.1

$88.1

2010

$39.7

$73.6

$19.6

$74.2

2011

$123.0

$394.6

$164.6

$619.9

2012

$146.5

$504.0

$163.9

$653.0

2013

$146.1

$431.0

$153.7

$612.8

Reproductive Cloning
Controversy
In Favor

Against

Provides genetically related

children when people cannot be
helped by other fertility treatments

Dehumanizes humans; fosters an

idea that humans can be
manufactured into objects whose
characteristics can be changed and
altered

Allows lesbians and homosexuals

to have children without donor
sperm or eggs

Promotes eugenics

Reproductive right; should be

allowed once judged to be no less
safe than natural reproduction

Diminishes a person(s) sense of

uniqueness/individuality

Could open doors to better cloning

technology along with the
advancement of science

Negative psychological effects of

cloned children
Unsafe
Could open the door to dangerous

Laws and Rulings

In 2009 Barack Obama removed certain

restrictions on federal funding involving stem cell
research. Under the funding and supervision of
The National Institutes of Health ethically moral
scientific stem cell research will be allowed under
certain guidelines. The order allowed testing on
existing embryotic stem cells. Human embryotic
stem cells lines must go through a slow and
rigorous review process in order to be named
eligible for research. Although federal funding is
now being provided for embryotic stem cell
research, new lines are not permitted to be
created, posing an obstacle for some researchers.

My Thoughts

Although an interesting thought, there is nowhere near

enough research done on reproductive cloning for me to
agree with it. The whole idea of growing an exact genetic
copy of an animal, or worse a human, comes with loads of
questions and possible outcomes. If a human embryo were to
successfully be cloned, thus growing a human being from it,
we would have no idea the psychological effects that would
occur for the clone, or the cloned. After taking this long to get
people to embrace individuality, and accept people for who
they are, we are going to make a monoculture of ourselves?
On top of all thy hypothetical issues accompanied with
reproductive cloning, there are too many physical and
scientific issues with the process anyway. Attempts to clone
an embryo usually end up with death, and if it doesnt die,
major health issues could pose threats in the clones future.
Although therapeutic cloning has great potential, reproductive
cloning is too unfamiliar and futile to pursue at this day and
age. The whole idea is still too strange and unethical, in my
taste, to gain enough interest and support in becoming a

Cites

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/s/somatic_cel
l_nuclear_transfer.htm
http://www.genome.gov/10004765
http://www.mccl.org/reproductive-vs-therapeuticcloning.html
http://www.humancloning.org/essays/dani.htm
http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=
282
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/humancloning-laws.aspx
http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/pages/2009guidelin
es.aspx