PROS OF CLONING

Prohibiting human cloning will threaten important research.

- Cloning research may contribute to disease treatment by
allowing scientists to reprogram cells

- Combined with other fast-developing biotechnologies, cloning
will revolutionize medicine

Through cloning, organ transplantation may become a more successful process.

- Human organs may be cultured from outside the body - Humans
may be able to clone their own organs for personal transplantation

- Cloning technology may allow biotechnologists to develop animals
which will grow human-compatible organs for transplant

- Xenotransplantation-transplanting organs from one species to another,
provides a solution to organ shortage

 

Infertile couples will be given the ability to reproduce.

Genetic choice in humans will be available.

A cloned human would be nothing more than an identical twin.

CONS OF CLONING

95-97% of animal cloning efforts end in disaster, and the ones that survive to
birth often suffer from ultimately fatal defects of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain
or immune system.

Life span may be reduced on cloned organisms.

No test today is capable of determining whether a cloned embryo's genes are
properly imprinted.

Apparently healthy clones have invisible genetic flaws that accumulate as more
copies are made.

The mother can gets so big, her muscles in the belly wall can tear. Some studies
suggest the clone's surrogate mother faces potentially fatal risks from carrying
clones, many of which are abnormally large.

Novel combinations of genes created through sexual reproduction help immune
systems devise defences against rapidly evolving genes, viruses, and parasites.
If enough human beings were cloned, pathogens would likely adapt, causing
widespread disease.