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Modern Biotechnology And Diginity Of Human Life; An Ethical Analysis
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1.2. THE STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Since the birth of the sheep named
Dolly in 1997, the possibility of human cloning has left very little to
be doubted. Thus, many debates have been going on about the issue.
Should humans be cloned? If humans are cloned, what would be their
social status? Who is responsible for cloned humans? Do clones have
rights and legal protection? Should the deformed cloned individual be
accepted?
In actual sense, human cloning techniques involve
intentional creation and destruction of human embryos either for
transplantation or experiments. The American Association for the
Advancement of sciences summarized the problem in these words:
…. not
only do most attempts to clone mammals fail, about 30 percent of clones
born alive are affected with large offspring syndrome and other
debilitating conditions. Several cloned animals have died prematurely
from infections and other complications… the attempt to clone humans at
this time is considered potentially dangerous and ethically
irresponsible.
However, there is diversity of opinions on human
cloning. Its morality has been argued. Although, each argument has some
interest to protect, the fundamental question is: Should humans be
cloned? This is a problem that needed an urgent attention in
biotechnological sciences. Here, we need to redefine the status of the
human embryo. Human embryo is not just an object for experimentation but
rather a unique and distinctive being, and should be accorded a
profound respect and dignity. His uniqueness and distinctiveness
differentiate him from every other creature. This is the dilemma of the
modern science and technology especially genetic engineering.
1.3. THE PURPOSE OF STUDY
The
real question is what has this work to contribute to the global debates
on the issue of human cloning? That is towards resolving the problem
of human cloning. Naturally, it is not ethical or moral to kill. It is
against the moral law to destroy another person’s life. But embryos are
deprived the right to live by denying them “personhood†by some
biologists. This is the basis for their exposure as objects of research
and experimentation.
The purpose of this work as a matter of fact,
is to look at the scientific practices or researches on human life and
their ethical implications. This consideration will necessarily lead to a
redefinition of the status of human embryo in the face of
biotechnological sciences. We hope to find out the proper place for the
fertilization of the human embryo, whether in the womb or in the Petri
dish outside the womb.
1.4. THE SCOPE OF STUDY
As we observed
above, the discoveries in the modern biotechnologies are too broad. An
attempt was made to restrict the topic to human cloning and its ethical
implications. Recognizing the fact that humans are not the objects for
scientific and biotechnological research(s).
Hence, this work shall
not only explore the arguments on human cloning but shall also look at
its ethical implications. Since no researcher can boost of thorough
exhaustive of its topic, this work does not also claim any exhaustive
study of human cloning. It is just a contribution to the contemporary
problems in bioethics. Every effort is made to explicitly state the
ethical implications of human cloning.
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