The path to human cloning is not a slippery slope to moral laxity; it is a step towards significantly increasing our quality of life. Much of the world is afraid of human cloning because they focus on its problems and ignore it’s benefits. More people would support human cloning if they were aware of the positive impact human cloning could have on mankind.
Every year millions of people suffer needlessly from genetic diseases that could be prevented. Individuals with a family history of genetic diseases like Cystic Fibrosis or Downs Syndrome are often hesitant to have children because they are afraid their children will inherit the condition. Human cloning could eliminate this problem and significantly improve the quality of life of many parents and children.
Furthermore, human cloning would enable millions of infertile Americans to have children. Current procedures for infertility have a 15-20% success rate. Cloning would make it possible for these couples to have a child that would be genetically similar to one of their parents and significantly improve the couple’s chances for fertility.
Many other benefits will follow human cloning that we can’t even imagine. Whenever mankind ventures into a new realm we always acquire new knowledge that provides unexpected benefits. As the space program has led to the invention of satellites, CAT scans and improved water purification, the study of human cloning will lead to new medical procedures and deepen our knowledge of the human body.
What is it that makes people fear human cloning so much if it offers so many benefits? For most people it is the fear of destroying a person’s individuality. However, human clones would possess the same amount of common genetic makeup as identical twins. People need to need to view human clones the same way they view identical twins, as separate distinct individuals.
When people meet identical twins they do not feel sorry for them because they lack individuality. In fact you often here people comment on how they wish they could have had a twin. Once human cloning becomes legal it will only take a couple of years for people to adjust to it. As people begin to have social interactions with clones it will be obvious to them that the clones possess as much individuality as anyone else.
It is wrong to forbid others to reap the benefits of human cloning simply because it makes others uncomfortable. How can we tell an infertile couple that they can’t have a child simply because other people feel don’t like the idea of a child looking exactly like one of it’s parents. How can we force couples with genetic diseases to choose between the risk of having a child with a crippling disease and forgoing parenthood. Once the world steps out of their comfort zone and reexamines their beliefs about human cloning they will realize that the most ethical decision is to overcome their fears and embrace the benefits of cloning.
