Bio-ethical debate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bio-ethical debate - Research Paper Example ern is that the very nature of the traditional family is in danger of evolving in a strange, unknown and undesirable direction and that the cloning of animals puts society on the slippery ethical slope towards human cloning. Advocates of cloning practices say that it may, among other things, serve society as an effective alternative treatment for infertility. Cloning is the creation of an embryo by the method of human somatic cell nuclear transfer. This procedure involves implanting DNA cells from an organism into an egg whose DNA nucleus has been removed then chemically treated so that the egg begins to behave as though fertilization has occurred. This results in the creation of embryonic growth of another organism that contains the complete genetic code of the original organism. Through this process, the cloning of mammals has resulted in, to date, hundreds of cloned organisms born. In some of these contexts, cloning refers to established technologies that have been part of agricultural practice for a very long time and currently form an important part of the foundations of modern biological research† (Nussbaum & Sunstein, 1998, p. 1). Though this process has produced many live successes, it has proved considerably less likely to produce successful pregnancies than those conceived through sexual reproduction. In addition, the maj ority of cloned animals have experienced some type of birth defect. Replication of an organism’s DNA identity does not occur naturally within mammals; only plants produce offspring through replication from one generation to the next. â€Å"The prospect of such replication for humans has resulted in the most controversial debate about reproduction ever to be taken up in western civilization† (McGee, 2001). Research regarding the cloning of animals may supply data that will be useful in the biotechnological and medical sciences. Some of the goals of this research are: â€Å"to generate groups of genetically identical animals for