what is the ethics related in cloning?

Answer 1

There are at this time three major ethical concerns with cloning. Two of them will probably go away in time.

First, the process is still largely experimental. We don't know what the long-term effects of cloning a creature or an organ will be. Some have theorized that because of the way cloning is performed, produced tissues may be prematurely aged. It also bears mention that usually only a fraction of a percent of implanted clones are ever born and the rest are miscarried. Even the ones that are carried to term seem to manifest unusual pregnancies. In all, it's a risky procedure with questionable outcomes right now. But of course we're not likely to learn more unless we keep trying to some extent.

Second, as far as human and animal clones are concerned, there is a concern that the clone will be viewed by society as being identical to the original. Which, due to environmental factors (and the nature of cloning right now!) is certainly not the case. In many senses a clone is even less like the original than one identical twin is to another. A clone of Einstein might not even be interested in physics, and there's concern that he might be pressured and outed by a society that expects him to be. Not to mention the whole issue of parents cloning a 'replacement' child or pet when one dies. But again, most of these concerns spring, if anything, from a societal ignorance of the nature of clones, and is likely to go away when more clones are around for people to have experience with.

The last concern is in many ways the most nebulous. What, exactly, is life and death? Most cloned tissues used for medical research these days are obtained by removing cells from an embryo and sucking out its DNA. This essentially means the much of what made the embryo distinct no longer exists, even though all the cells remain alive. Arguably, this is a better fate than probably awaited the vast majority of such embryos, which are usually the result of abortions and are destroyed completely afterward. Is it moral to do this to an embryo? Does the fact that it would have died change things? These are questions that sharply divide people, and unlike the others are not likely to be resolved any time soon. If ever.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

One I can think of is that the person who you create may not be happy about being the clone of someone else when they grow up. Nevertheless, none of have a choice as to who we are born to or how, so I'm not sure how big an objection that is. Another issue is the purpose of doing so - If it's to help an infertile couple then it might be ethical, whereas if it's to create an army of Arnie Scharzeneggers to fight your next war then that wouldn't seem right.

Answer 3

There are many issues. Here's one to think about. Parents or doctors could use cloning to create a perfect organ donor (or even a series of donors) for a person with a degenerative disease. Can it be justified as saving a life?

On the more bizarre side, have you ever seen the movie "Boys From Brazil"?