Even the tiniest remark on cloning, and genetic diseases brings chills to our spine, as our minds attempt to assimilate to this repulsive, unnatural idea. Genetic diseases and cloning have one connection, genetic engineering, a controversial science that can either save society or end it. In regards to cloning, which can only be caused by genetic engineering, we would be overstepping the boundaries of humans’ role in scientific research and development, leading to countless ethical and safety issues, ultimately dooming our society. However, genetic engineering can be used positively, to cure genetic diseases such as cancer, premature death, and sickle cell anemia, diseases that have taken millions of lives each year, destroyed countless families, and caused an immeasurable amount of grief. Genetic engineering is the modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material, in order to make the organism healthier, and stronger. Genetic engineering will provide substantial benefits to humans by curing life-threatening diseases like cancer and premature death, however, there’s still concerns regarding the lengths that scientists should take genetic engineering too, which is why there should be a limit to it and should not be used to clone humans due to ethical and safety concerns.
Diseases are the main focus of geneticists as of now, and whilst there are several arguments and protests of genetic engineering being nothing but a pipe dream for mad scientists, researchers have developed ground-breaking technology known as CRISPR, a tool that would prove many of these protestors wrong. KQED, a science radio station, posts about CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing tool used to rewrite the genes inside a person, and they quoted, “Therapeutic applications using CRISPR/Cas9 to correct disease-causing mutations are currently under development to treat cancer.” (Stein). This supports my premise of how genetic engineering can be the cure of several life threatening diseases, because the quote states how CRISPR, the gene editing tool can correct diseases such as cancer, heritable diseases, and premature death among others. There are many arguments that changing the genes of an individual will change who they are inside as a person, and violates their rights, however, I believe, the ends justify the means. If we can cure cancer, a disease that kills millions every year, wouldn’t changing their genes be worth it if it saves their life? Besides treating cancer, genetic engineering can also cure heritable diseases, like Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and eventual premature death. Mayo Clinic, a non-profit academic medical center focused on health care, did lots of research regarding gene therapy, and wrote, “Gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or adds a new gene in an attempt to cure disease or improve your body’s ability to fight disease. Gene therapy holds promise for treating a wide range of diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, diabetes, hemophilia and AIDS.” (Russel). This proves my premise of how genetic engineering can be used to treat several life threatening diseases and outweigh the ethical issues, such as stripping away the identity of a human. This relates directly back to my topic sentence of how genetic engineering can cure several life-threatening diseases and my thesis statement of how genetic engineering can provide substantial benefits to humanity.
Cloning humans violates the boundaries of human roles regarding scientific research and development, creating several safety concerns. The Center for Genetics and Society, a research company dedicated to gathering up information on the science of genetic engineering, quoted, “Reproductive cloning would diminish the sense of uniqueness of an individual. It would violate deeply and widely held convictions concerning human individuality and freedom, and could lead to a devaluation of clones in comparison with non-clones.”(Geddes). This shows the consequences that would arise from cloning. The uniqueness of an individual assures them a special place and worth in his society, and with that diminished, human beings will lose their sense of individuality, demoralizing them from contributing to society. There would also be the problem of inequality between clones and non-clones, non-clones being treated better. One type of human beings being treated inferior to another type of human beings brings society right back to its problems of slavery and discrimination, which circles back to my overarching theme of how cloning is ethically wrong. Aside from being morally incorrect, genetic engineering brings about countless safety issues that could eventually lead to death. The Center of Genetics and Society as well have also gathered evidence about the safety issues regarding cloning. “Reproductive cloning is inherently unsafe. At least 95% of mammalian cloning experiments have resulted in failures from miscarriage, stillbirths, and life-threatening anomalies; some experts believe no clones are fully healthy. The technique could not be developed in humans without putting the physical safety of the clones and the women who bear them at grave risk.” (Geddes). This proves my premise of clones causing safety problems because it shows how clones are full of health problems and will result in failure. This answers the question about the purposes and uses of cloning, because if these clones are just unhealthy, weaker humans, then how is cloning going to contribute to the betterment of society? We will be wasting countless resources in order to provide for these clones, so instead of helping society, these clones are hurting us instead. This changes my thinking regarding the societal contributions these clones can accomplish, and relates directly back to my thesis statement of how cloning can lead to several safety issues.
Cloning can be beneficial to human beings and will bring enhanced possibilities for organ transplantation, nerve cells and tissue healing, and other health benefits. This quote was written by VITANA, a non-governmental organization focused on helping students researchers in scientific fields. “The process of cloning can also be used to repair or grow new cells to replace damaged or missing ones, which could treat illnesses and genetic disorders.”(Gaille). This piece of evidence helps prove my premise of how cloning is beneficial to human beings because it can be used to repair cells of important organs that humans need, such as the heart or liver. It answers the questions regarding the uses of cloning and how it doesn’t need to always involve making a whole new person. This proves my thesis and topic statement wrong because it shows that cloning can be ethically correct because this process will save lives, and instead of posing as a safety concern to humans, it’ll actually make life easier for humans. So, while cloning has its downsides, if we use cloning only to repair or grow new cells, then it can become a huge medical asset to society. However, even this aspect of cloning has its problems. Although cloning can be used to treat illnesses and genetic disorders by cloning certain cells of specific organs, problems such as new diseases and organ rejection start to arise. This quote came from Green Garage, a company that does research on environmental and genetic issues. “One possibility of cloning is cell mutation, which is known to result in new and more aggressive genetic diseases to begin within humans, creating a lot of problems. In fact, many people believe that such an event will be the demise of civilization.”(Miller). This proves my premise of the safety concerns cloning brings by opening the possibility of aggressive genetic diseases to arise within humans. This can create several new diseases, far more deadly than COVID-19 or the Flu, two diseases which have already taken millions of lives. It answers the overarching question, is cloning worth it, and will it be beneficial to us? From this research and evidence of cloning being the demise of civilization, we can see that no, cloning will not be worth it and should not be practiced. The limits of genetic engineering should be to cure diseases and any form of cloning will harm humanity.
Genetic engineering can provide several benefits to humanity, such as curing life-threatening diseases like cancer and premature death, however, it should not be used to clone individuals. By using materials such as CRISPR and gene therapy, we would rewrite the genes of an individual creating a healthier and stronger version of them. We would be able to save millions of lives, and spare countless families from experiencing an unbearable amount of grief. However, using genetic engineering to clone a person would have many ethical issues because we would be taking away an individual’s uniqueness and speciality. It also leads to a waste of resources, because the clones are proven to be weaker, and riddles with diseases. Cloning would bring back problems such as discrimination and inequality between non-clones and clones, and society would be wasting countless resources to provide for these clones. We have to use genetic engineering from a logical and moral standpoint, in order to fully utilize the benefits that it can provide for humanity. As long as we use it correctly, genetic engineering is the key to a brighter future.
Works Cited
Fernandez, Elizabeth. “Yes, People Can Edit the Genome in Their Garage. Can They Be Regulated?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Sept. 2019,
Geddes. “Reproductive Cloning Arguments Pro and Con.” Center For Genetics and Society, Biopolitical Views & News, 3 Aug. 2021.
“Gene Therapy.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 29 Dec. 2017.
Lartaud, Derek. “Gene Editing & CRISPR: How Far Should We Go?” KQED, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), 29 Apr. 2019.
