Cloning involves creating a genetically identical copy of a biological entity, from a DNA segment to an entire organism. Reproductive cloning specifically aims to produce a new multicellular organism that is a genetic duplicate of another. While scientific advancements have made cloning possible, particularly with mammals, it prompts considerable discussion and raises significant biological, ethical, and societal concerns.
Biological Limitations and Health Issues
Reproductive cloning procedures frequently encounter low success rates. Animal cloning attempts often have failure rates as high as 90% to 97%. For example, the creation of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, involved 270 attempts before success. Typically, less than 5% of cloned embryos survive to live birth, highlighting the technical challenges.
Cloned animals often exhibit a broad spectrum of health problems and deformities. These can include physical abnormalities such as enlarged tongues, squashed faces, and malformations of organs like the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain. Immune deficiencies, diabetes, and intestinal blockages are also reported issues. These defects can arise from epigenetic errors, where the cloning process disrupts the normal expression of genes.
Concerns also extend to the lifespan and aging patterns of cloned animals. Dolly the sheep, for instance, developed osteoarthritis at five years old and died at six and a half years from a progressive lung disease, which was earlier than the typical lifespan for her breed. This raised questions about premature aging in clones. Additionally, surrogate mothers carrying cloned embryos face increased risks, including high rates of spontaneous abortions and conditions like “large-offspring syndrome,” where fetuses grow abnormally large, complicating pregnancy and birth.
Ethical and Moral Concerns
Cloning, particularly human cloning, raises profound moral and philosophical questions regarding human dignity and individuality. A cloned individual might be perceived as a mere copy rather than a unique person, potentially undermining their sense of self and denying them a unique identity.
The concept of “playing God” is often invoked, suggesting cloning oversteps human boundaries by interfering with natural creation. There are also moral questions about the status of a cloned individual and potential exploitation. Critics worry that cloned individuals could be created for specific utilitarian purposes, such as organ harvesting or serving as “donor children.”
Cloning transforms human procreation from a natural act into a process of manufacture. This raises concerns that human beings could be viewed as products to be designed and created. The inherent risks associated with reproductive cloning, particularly the high likelihood of complications and loss of life, lead many to consider any attempts at human reproductive cloning as unethical experimentation.
Societal and Individual Identity Impacts
The broader societal implications of cloning involve the potential for human life to be commodified. If cloning technology were to become widespread, individuals might be created with specific traits or for particular purposes, such as organ donation or military applications. This could foster a market where human characteristics are selected and traded.
Cloning also has the potential to alter traditional family structures and kinship relationships. A cloned individual would share an identical genetic makeup with another person, creating an unusual form of kinship that differs significantly from natural sibling relationships. This could lead to confusion regarding familial roles and connections. The introduction of such relationships might challenge established notions of parenthood and lineage.
Concerns about social inequality are also prominent, as cloning technologies might only be accessible to the affluent. This could lead to a “designer baby” scenario, where wealthier individuals could select desirable traits for their offspring, exacerbating existing social stratification and potentially creating a genetically divided society. Such a development could deepen divisions between those who can afford genetic enhancements and those who cannot.
A cloned individual might face significant psychological challenges and identity crises. Grappling with the knowledge of being a genetic duplicate could lead to feelings of lacking individuality or being burdened by expectations to live up to the original. While some argue that personal experiences shape identity more than genetics, the unique circumstances of a cloned individual’s existence could still present complex psychological hurdles.