We can now make genetic copies of animals; cloning adult animals. It is not inconceivable that we over time will learn to do this in humans also. But we are faced with the question: Should we allow cloning ourselves?
There could be several arguments speaking for the cloning of humans. For infertile couples, it could be a way of creating their own children for instance. The children can probably not wear both parents’ genes, but at least have a genetic connection to them of them.
Another view of cloning is as an opportunity to reach eternal life, maybe not for the soul but at least for parts of the body. Many people in the U.S. do today freeze parts of themselves after their death; to make it possible to clone them in the future.
Most people, however, don’t like the idea that we could clone ourselves.
It may have something to do with the idea that equality of all people is closely related to the fact that each of us is different. It is perhaps not despite, but because of, our differences that we feel we have the same value? Having a lot of genetically identical individuals walking around the earth would perhaps make it difficult to feel unique and valuable? But that idea does in my opinion lead to a result that identical twins would not have the same value as others. And that isn’t true, right? So I think that argument isn’t a valid concern after all.
Another reason could be everyone’s equal right to their own individuality. The person who wants to be cloned have of course made the choice of his own; but not the child that was born as a result of cloning. The child has never been asked whether it agrees to be a copy of someone else or not, and that’s a valid point to bring up in my opinion.
The reluctance can also be based on the fear of what totalitarian regimes could do with this ability to clone people. If this was developed in large-scale it could mean that the creation of thousands of genetic copies of selected people would be possible; genetics shown to have genes that made them exceptionally suitable as soldiers, workers etc, with a slave-like outcome as a result.
But perhaps is our fear against cloning in humans based on our instinctive aversion for the unknown? Like many in previous generations were marveled the first time they met a colored man. In that case, we’ll probably begin to accept cloning the day it is a common fact of our lives more or less.
So let’s do an imaginary scenario: Assume that your children will have friends that are cloned from one parent, and that one of your best friends has had children in the same way. And that we in our everyday life meet parents with cloned children. Are we then to accept cloning as a natural way for an adoption?
There are many issues we must consider when speaking about cloning of humans. I think it should be allowed, as a part of our evolution; which means, if we’re able to do something we might as well do it. Human is an evolving species, and this might just as well be a new direction for how the future people will develop.
It’s definitely a sensitive subject, and it needs discussion.
