To Be, or Be Two Essay -- Essays Papers

To Be, or Be Two Imagine walking down the street, or seeing someone on the television and think they look just like you, or someone you know. As much as they may look like you, you pretty much know there is no relationship between you and the look-alike. However, in today's day and age, it is nearly possible that the look-alike is really a clone of you. Now of course, it is not this simple, but the point is, with science today, cells, and eventually people, are being cloned. These actions of cloning are for both human and therapeutic purposes. Cells are being cloned for the sake of fertility reasons, and to grow cells for new organs. Is this right? I personally disagree with the fact of cloning human embryos for the purpose of creating new people. I feel it is morally wrong, as well as a disadvantage for the clone of the person. Supporting my argument is research from Gary McCuens' Cloning: Science and Society, and an article from The Ithaca Journal, "Stem Cells Grow from Clones, Contro versial Reports Show." While reading Gary McCuens' Cloning: Science and Society, I came across points both for and against cloning human embryos. No matter how hard I tried to read his points with an open mind, I was not able to bring myself to terms with the reasons for cloning human embryos. A major reason some people feel it is acceptable to clone human embryos is for the benefits of infertile couples (13). These embryos would be transported through the process of in vitro fertilization, but they would not be like typical in vitro fertilization processes. Since many in vitro births do not succeed, researchers have found that it may be possible to clone the in vitro embryos and allow the couple to have more chances a... ...ve no benefit to anyone. I feel it leads to a child feeling like they are not good enough because they are not who they are expected to be. I also feel it leads to guilt within the child, and a feeling of failure. The child is always going to feel like they were not able to live up to the standards predetermined by society. A child has the right to be their own person. I feel cloning the human embryo is not necessary because society has managed to survive thus far without it, why not continue that way? I feel every child has the right to be who they want to be, they should not have to duplicate the life of someone who already lived it. Works Cited McCuen, Gary E. Cloning: Science and Society. Wisconsin: Gary McCuen Publications, 1998. Neus, Elizabeth. "Stem Cells Grow From Clones, Controversial Report Shows." The Ithaca Journal 27 April 2001.