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The Cons of Cloning

There are plenty of arguments against cloning, especially against the cloning of human

beings. The issues that face cloning outweigh any opportunity for medical advancement. With

the world’s population growing and resources already strained, it is irresponsible to unnaturally

add to the burden. The cloning debate raises concerns that are legal, moral, religious, and

scientific and should be forever banned.

In Genesis, Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden for taking fruit from

the tree of knowledge and presuming to obtain God's wisdom. For those on the religious side of

the argument, cloning is wrong no matter for what reason because it is attempting to obtain

God’s power. God is the giver of life, and we shouldn’t try to play God. Another argument for

religious-minded people is the belief that every life is precious in God's eyes. For example, each

individual in a pair of identical twins has their own soul. A clone, once given life, should have

the same rights as a naturally born person. Cloning organs for “spare parts” just to destroy it for

research is horrible and unethical.

Another reason cloning is not a good idea is the scientific problems that can occur. It’s

now known that clones don’t live as long as normally produced animals. Although scientists

don’t know for sure why that occurs, they guess it could be because genes taken from adults are

more likely to have undergone mutations. Another scientific argument is that inbred animals,

such as purebred dogs, have an increased risk of genetic defects. Everyone agrees that mutts tend

to be healthier, so it makes sense that purebred humans would have the same problems.

Finally, another reason to reconsider cloning is the problems it may cause law

enforcement with the identification of criminals. If two people are running around with the same
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DNA, it would be nearly impossible to know if you have the correct guilty person or his clone.

Police detective work has progressed tremendously in the last 50 years due to means of scientific

DNA. Cloning would make DNA testing invalid and set police investigation back decades.

Sure the idea that we can put off old age and longer lives is attractive, but it’s not worth

the cost to our society. Fear of death sometimes forces a person to eat better and live better.

With the promise of replacement organs, I think people would not be motivated to make better

choices for themselves. Taken together, the arguments against cloning seem to outweigh any

good that could be obtained.