Cloning an Inhumane Industry

Malcolm Smith
Professor Douglas
English 111 52
7 November, 2016

Cloning, an Inhumane Industry

For thousands of years, as long as man and woman have roamed the Earth, reproduction
has been an intimate and personal process. The process of cloning threatens to turn human
reproduction into a manufacturing process. Cloning should be illegal as a medical and/or
scientific practice because its morality is questionable; it is very dangerous, and it threatens the
genetic variations that have made humans resilient.
The creation of life has always been seen as an amazing and sacred phenomenon.
Cloning, however, perverts the reproductive process for profit. Instead of the fertilization
happening inside the mothers womb, it happens in a petri dish. Cloning turns human
reproduction into a manufacturing process in the most literal sense: human embryos are created
to serve as raw materials for the production of biomedical research supplies (The Coming of the
Clones).
In this modern time genetics is so often taken for granted. The genome, for example, or
the key to life as it is described by scientists, explains everything from intelligence and
propensities to sexual orientation and race (187).
The genome is what makes the human species what it is, individually and as a species
(Gedge 187). The Human genome explains everything from intelligence and propensities to
sexual orientation and race (187).

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Genetic reproduction should not be manipulated or packaged into an off the shelf process
to increase a corporations profits. Cloning does exactly this by promoting genes that scientists
deem useful. To this point assigning every child to a predetermined role in their life. This is at
its root biological slavery, in that these clones would be expected to behave and act like their
genetic parent (Kral 9). This way of thinking, however, is illogical, because people are the
product of their environment. Although the clone would be genetically the same as someone
they could be completely different personality wise.
The research companies that have advocated for cloning have explained that the humans
created would be the property of the company that created them (Blackwell). Making it all the
more immoral, seeing as the thirteenth amendment made slavery or involuntary servitude illegal
in America. This kind of cloning is being performed at several scientific labs in the United
States, despite the availability of alternative techniques that produce cells of nearly the same
scientific and medical value but that require neither the creation nor destruction of human
embryos. Therefore there is no acceptable reason for cloning. The human race must stop trying
to change and control everything. The human race needs to simply accept the environmental,
biological, and physical limitations it has lived with for centuries.
As a practice cloning is not safe. Concerns about the safety of the individuals involved in
a cloning procedure are shared by nearly everyone on all sides of the cloning debate. (Arnold 4)
Even most advocates of cloning generally qualify their support with an article about the safety of
the procedure. All constituents believe there need to be more studies done on the risks and
rewards of cloning. The human body and all its systems are complex and mysterious puzzle that
require much more study before it is fully understood. The cloning experiments done on other

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mammals strongly suggest that cloning whether to produce children or for research is, at least for
now, far too risky to attempt.
Often in cases of cloning the clones don't live as long as sexually reproduced animals,
possibly because the genes taken from adults are more likely to have undergone mutations
(Mautner 7). In the case of human cloning this is a frightening proposition, because the genes of
humans are often mutated by the environment they live in. An example, a person living in Africa
has cells in his or her skin (Melanin) that have mutated to protect them from the harsh rays of the
sun. Taking these cells and trying to clone them may result in abnormalities.

Based on the research done by the AAVS the efforts made to clone cows have been
unsafe or unsuccessful. These cloning procedures often end in horrible complications such as late
term pregnancy loss, hydrops, neonatal mortality, Large Offspring Syndrome (LOS), and just
general mortality (Animal Welfare) The worst of which being LOS. Clones with LOS have
abnormally large organs. This can lead to breathing, blood flow and other problems. Because
LOS doesn't always occur, scientists cannot reliably predict whether it will happen in any given
clone (Klotzko 3). Also, some clones without LOS have developed kidney or brain
malformations and impaired immune systems, which can cause problems later in life.
With all of the complications that have come with cloning cows it can only be imagined
what complications would arise from human cloning. Safety concerns revolving around
potential dangers to the cloned child, as well as to the egg donor and the woman who would
carry the cloned child to birth. As a result, human eggs will become a commodity and
potentially lead to the exploitation of disadvantaged women worldwide. Studies have shown that
many women have experienced health problems as a result of having eggs extracted for cloning
(Animal Models for Ecological Risk Assessment). The drugs used to hyperstimulate the ovaries

Cloning an Inhumane Industry

also have negative effects, most notably a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome
(OHSS). Serious cases of this syndrome involve the development of cysts and enlargement of the
ovaries, along with massive fluid build-up in the body (Norsigian 27). Studies have shown that
a large percentage of cloning efforts end in failure. For example, it took hundreds of attempts to
clone Dolly the sheep (Animal Models for Ecological Risk Assessment).
The process of cloning is done through somatic cell nuclear transfer which takes the
nucleus from one cell, which contains the DNA. At the same time, the nucleus of an egg cell is
removed. The nucleus of the somatic cell is then inserted into the enucleated egg cell. After
being inserted into the egg, the somatic cell nucleus is reprogrammed by the host cell.The egg,
now containing the nucleus of a somatic cell, is stimulated with a shock and will begin to divide.
After many mitotic divisions in culture, this single cell forms a blastocyst (an early stage embryo
with about 100 cells) with almost identical DNA to the original organism.
Cloning animals through somatic cell nuclear transfer is simply inefficient. The success
rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only one to 30
clones are made (Klotzko). The result of the procedure would be a human being in its own right.
Given the current level of cloning technology concerning other animals there is every reason to
believe that early human clones will have shorter than average life spans, and will be unusually
prone to disease. In addition, they are at a higher at risk of having genetic defects.
In 1348, 75 million Europeans were wiped out by the Black Death also known as the
Plague. This epidemic swept across Europe like a wave killing most of those in its path. Those
spared owed their immunity to mutations in their genes that allowed them to survive this
epidemic. The human race has experienced this type of catastrophe countless times and each
time the species has been saved by genetic diversity. Genetic diversity helps provide the pool of

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variations available for a robust human population. Genetic diversity also provides the mutations
that make certain people immune to epidemics such as the Plague.
Another drawback of cloning is that it is very much like inbreeding between animals
which often ends in genetically inferior offspring. It is commonly known that inbreeding animals
constantly can result in reduced variations and an increased risk of genetic defects. An example
is hip dysplasia in purebred dogs. Mutts tend to be more adaptable and healthier.
Cloning is an immoral, unsafe, and detrimental to the genetic variation of the human race.
Sexual reproduction is more efficient, safer, and supplies the vital genetic variation that makes
the human race strong. Do not allow corporations to make the creation of human life a
manufacturing process. Keep cloning humans illegal!

Works Cited

"Animal Models for Ecological Risk Assessment." SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag. 8

Jan. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
"Animal Welfare : End Animal Cloning." Animal Welfare : End Animal Cloning. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Arnold, Eileen. "Cloning Embryos: Scientific Milestone or Moral Offense?" University
Wire (2015 Apr 29): N.p. DB - SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Blackwell, Ken. "Ignored Implications." N.p., 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
"The Coming of the Clones." Weekly Standard 2015 sep 21: 5 DB - SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

Cloning an Inhumane Industry

Gedge, Elizabeth J. "Readings in Health Care Ethics - Second Edition." Google Books.
N.p., 1997. Web. 3 Nov, 2016.
Klotzko, Judith. "Cloning Humans Is Not Yet Safe." N.p., 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 11 Mar.
2016.
Kral, Joe. "Human Cloning = Biological Slavery." Truth and Charity Forum. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 Nov, 2016.
Norsigian, Judy. "Egg Donation Puts Women at Risk." N.p., 2007. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.