In this blog post, we will look beyond the ethical concerns and identity controversy surrounding human cloning and examine its therapeutic potential and life science value.
Twenty years ago, the birth of Dolly the sheep caused a huge stir around the world. This was because it was the first time that a new life form could be created using only adult somatic cells, not germ cells. The future of biotechnology looked rosy, and people began to harbor hopes for human cloning. However, the joy was short-lived, as Dolly suffered from obesity and lung disease, and even showed symptoms of arthritis, raising concerns that she was “aging rapidly.” Eventually, Dolly was euthanized six years after her birth, which strengthened the arguments of those who oppose human cloning. So, should human cloning be stopped because it is dangerous? I don’t think that is necessarily the case. To explain this, I will first look at the arguments of anti-cloningists.
First, the issue is raised from an ethical perspective. Article 20 (Prohibition of Human Cloning) of Chapter 4, Section 1 of the “Bioethics and Safety Act” issued by the Bioethics Policy Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea states, “No one shall implant a cloned embryo into the womb of a human or animal, maintain it in that state, or give birth to it.” In the movie “The Island,” “clones” appear, which are replicas of real people. They exist only for the purpose of harvesting and transplanting organs when needed. They are described as tools, not humans, and as “products” that do not feel love or pain. Anti-cloningists warn that the future of the movie “The Island” could become a reality, and claim that humans could use mass-cloned humans as tools for purposes such as organ transplants.
The second problem is about identity. A person created through cloning may experience psychological turmoil when they learn that there is someone who is exactly like them. This, they claim, could lead to the question of “Who am I?”
The anti-cloningists’ arguments have their own valid reasons. However, when viewed from an ethical and identity perspective, their arguments are not valid.
First, let’s look at the ethical aspect. Even for large-scale cloning, multiple uteruses and surrogate mothers are needed to implant the cloned human. However, there is a limit to how many uteruses can be obtained, and it takes about nine months for a surrogate mother to give birth to a cloned human. In addition, it costs a lot of money to obtain a large number of eggs, and it also costs a lot of money to maintain cloned humans. In terms of time and cost, mass human cloning is a difficult task. The images of cloned humans currently portrayed in the mass media and the media are often exaggerated, making it difficult to achieve the commercial mass cloning that is only possible in science fiction movies. Above all, human cloning is a highly controversial issue, so legal sanctions will be imposed strictly. Therefore, it will not be a major ethical issue.
In addition, the argument that human cloning should be prohibited on the grounds of identity is not convincing. This is because there will be no major problems if bioethics education is properly followed. However, the importance of bioethics education is currently being under-addressed in science education, and there is an absolute shortage of experts to teach bioethics. To solve this problem, we can create a bioethics education program for the general public and clones to minimize the psychological confusion that human cloning can cause. Through systematic bioethics education, we can internalize the value of respect for life and promote the formation of identity.
So, what are the positive aspects of human cloning? There are many, but I think the biggest advantage is that it can cure genetic diseases. If one of the couple suffers from a genetic disease, there is a possibility that the disease will be passed on to their offspring. Of course, current technology can be used to prevent some genetic diseases using donated sperm or eggs from a third party, but the risk of side effects cannot be completely ruled out if the genes are not from the parents. However, human cloning has the advantage of preventing the transmission of genetic diseases from parents to their offspring.
In addition, diseases such as cancer and AIDS, which were considered incurable through genetic analysis, are now being considered as incurable diseases. Biotechnology researchers are making great contributions to the development of treatments for incurable diseases through human cloning research and methods such as gene sequence analysis. This is likely to be used to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Moreover, the current supply of organs for transplantation is far from meeting demand. At this time, organ transplantation through human cloning could be a ray of hope for those in need of transplantation. In addition, human cloning research has the advantage of giving precious life to infertile couples.
So far, we have examined the reasons why people oppose human cloning from the perspectives of ethics and identity, and explained why these reasons are not valid. We also discussed the positive aspects of human cloning. This shows that human cloning is not as dangerous as it seems. With the development of stem cells, humanity has seen the possibility of curing incurable diseases, and the era of a 100-year life expectancy is not far off. Science has always taken new approaches and has taken various opportunity costs. Science and technology have developed after numerous failures, and if there had been no such trial and error, genetic engineering technology would not have existed today. The path to human cloning is still far and unfamiliar. However, we should challenge human cloning research rather than being trapped in fear of the unknown.
