Toxcina King
The uproar all started ten years ago with a sheep named Dolly. Why, you ask? Because Dolly was the first animal to be cloned from an adult stem cell rather than an embryo.
Since then, all types of animals have been cloned — cows, mouse, pigs, you name it.
Recently, scientists from the Oregon National Primate Research Center in Portland are reporting a breakthrough in stem cell research.
They have cloned embryos from a 9-year-old male monkey, with the hopes that the process may one day be used on humans.
When I first heard of cloning, I was very concerned, even a little scared. I wasn’t thinking about the possibility of the research saving lives. Instead, it reminded me of a group of mad scientists going to the extreme and creating a modern-day version of the movie, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
As opposed to pods coming from outer space duplicating our bodies, we found a way to do it ourselves.
In order to develop my own understanding about how close we are to human cloning by the monkey used in the ONPRC research, I decided to do a little research of my own.
Bruce M. Rowe, author of Physical Anthropology, 9th Edition, and a professor of anthropology at Pierce for 38 years, said, “The recent rhesus macaque monkey that was recently produced by researchers in Portland and claimed to be a clone, is not a clone in the literal sense.”
I’m so glad I asked Professor Rowe for his opinion, because for many for years I’ve heard scientists have tried to produce stem cells through cloning in monkeys, because the animals are so closely related to humans. And, to my knowledge, the process had never worked until the Oregon research claim.
“It is an artificial twin. A clone is produced from a body cell. The monkey was produced from splitting an embryo, the same process that happens naturally with twinning,” he said.
Another interesting factor to add to the issue of animal cloning is the numerous advocacy groups, such as the Humane Society and others, that are issuing press releases throughout the U.S. condemning the practice of animal cloning for any reason.
And then, there’s the granddaddy of all cloning subjects: human cloning, one of the most controversial debates in the U.S. government. As a matter of fact, human cloning is banned in the U.S., but has been the source of debates in many other countries and international organizations.
“We should not be cloning humans. It took 277 attempts to clone Dolly the sheep and 947 attempts to clone the first mouse. Most of the attempts led to deformed animals or embryos that aborted. Even Dolly and other successfull clones might have been born with serious abnormalities,” said Rowe.
Then, there’s the other side of the human cloning argument. There are those that believe there are many ways human cloning can benefit mankind.
According to the Web site HumanCloning.org, human cloning can be used to reverse heart attacks, kidney failure, down syndrome, defective genes and a host of other illnesses by growing human embryonic stem cells to produce organs and tissue to repair or replace damaged ones.
As it relates to children and the benefits of cloning, the HumanCloning.org Web site uses an example of a couple that had one child and then became infertile. They feel that cloning would enable such a couple to have a second child, perhaps a younger twin of the child they already have.
The list of religious, moral and ethical reasons for and against human cloning is so long that it would take a novel just to cover it.
For example, I was raised in foster care. My foster parents’ religion prohibited blood transfusions, no matter how sick you were or how badly it was needed. Without the needed blood, you were a dead person, and the doctrine still exists today.
So I’ll be diplomatic and say there are policies and laws that are currently being formulated and many other publications to explain the religious, moral, ethical and legal issues of human cloning. The information is out there to allow you to make your own decision.
However, one should take into account that there are things on this planet that man (in the image of God) has destroyed and some of this destruction is irreversible. Does global warming sound familiar? And just like my foster parents use to say to me when I was young about matches, if you’re not careful, you will get burned.
I am no judge or jury when it comes to new life-saving discoveries in the name of science. And, I do still think about the “Invasion of The Body Snatchers.” But with my newfound investigation into human cloning, my only question is what type of body snatcher he or she will be. What I mean to say is, will the clones become our allies, or our adversaries?