Let's Clone Ourself, and live forever... Options

This topic invite arguements and your views about human cloning.

What do you think about cloning?

Is it morally right?

Given the opportunity, would you clone yourself?

What else would you like to bring up to the concept, idea and practice of cloning?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smartass.gif)

I am against cloning; why make a copy of something when you could either make a new improved version or in any case, just a new one.

As for cloning humans, I wouldn't have myself cloned, imagine how awful it would be for the people that found the first version a handful (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

The only good reason for having anyone cloned would be if the original person got badly injured and died, then at least you might have the copy, but would they still be just like the original human? even identical twins differ and since you could not guarantee that the copy would be different enough to warrant another version or even the same enough to make a reliable copy, then I cannot see the point.

I am neither for nor against the principle of human cloning.

Note that I make that distinction - the principle.

I am currently against it because our methods result in creatures with severely decreased immune systems, and therefore on a purely humanitarian basis, I'd find it a cruel thing to do.

Given a perfect cloning scenario, I don't care either way (and morality doesn't really enter into it), because I am me, and a clone of me is its own individual. In some ways it might be a wonderful experiment in possibility - how else might someone with my mechanical parameters turn out? Yet in an other way, that other individual is an individual, not an experiment, and therefore their life is their own to live, not mine to toy with.

Rather than tangle you all with such ramblings however, this is my point:
A clone is just another human being. They may look like me or you in most ways, but they are their own individual, and as such, have little to no bearing on my own (or your) individuality.

And just to note (for Radiant Star): a clone is merely a genetic copy of an individual, they are not mentally the same, nor even physically entirely the same. You could not replace an individual with a clone - you could replace parts of an individual with cloned parts - but the whole individual is the summary of their life's experiences as well as the basic genetic blueprint, and that cannot yet be duplicated.

I am all for taking the cloning as far as the stem cell stage for the replacing of various body parts etc. but we have enough people in the world...do we need more? What is the purpose of cloning? ...other than to create body parts that won't be rejected by the primary body. People have all that they require to make more people without recreating the older version(s). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I am currently against it because our methods result in creatures with severely decreased immune systems, and therefore on a purely humanitarian basis, I'd find it a cruel thing to do.

This actually old news now:
Cloned baby claim met with doubt
Baby clone 'due in Japan soon'
It has more links the right of that news on BBC.

I am currently against it because our methods result in creatures with severely decreased immune systems, and therefore on a purely humanitarian basis, I'd find it a cruel thing to do.

This actually old news now:
Cloned baby claim met with doubt
Baby clone 'due in Japan soon'
It has more links the right of that news on BBC.

I am for cloning. Perhaps you can direct to me to a mad scientist who can build me a clone army with which I can take over the world? Or at least one who can clone me a few dozen cheesburgers?

Seriously though. If they can clone us kidneys and livers perhaps the chinese death camps where they are currently harvesting human organs from alive prisoners will stop. 6,000 Falun Gong practicioners were jailed in Sujiatun. None came out alive. There are currently 36 secret concentration camps through out china where organ harvesting from live prisoners is being done. This is of course an effective way of execution. But for people who practice something simular to tai chi?????????

Ok maybe a clone army of myself is immoral. Surely cloning can have useful purposes. For example can we clone George Bush a brain? Not from his own brain tissue<or lack thereof> of course. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/insane.gif)

God no, I wake up with my butt every day and can hardly stand myself, why would I want another me? LOL! Cloning, actually I think that's where man is trying to take gods place. Cloning humans is just immoral. I just imagine how people would feel knowing that they aren't who they are. They weren't even born normally, they were the clone of something else. If it were me, I'd have a major inferiority complex and become severly depressed.

Using it ethically is a different story. Such as using it for body parts. To be able to keep the whole not create a new one. I agree with it then, but..otherwise 'The Island' comes to mind.

A clone isn't the same as the person it was cloned from anymore than a set of twins is the same person. But I do support cloning. Think of it this way. Millions of children are diagnosed with lukemia every year. The best known treatment is a bone marrow transplant. However, because finding a matching doner is nearly impossible, many children die of this terrible disease. If you could simply clone their bone marrow, you could give them a transplant that their body (in theory) wouldn't reject. If you could wipe out children's lukemia, would it not be worthy to do so? Heck, upon birth, as standard practice, the Dr could take some of the baby's blood and keep in on ice. If the person ever needed anything---bone marrow, a heart transplant, a new kidney, all we'd have to do is grow one and insert it. The potential benefits of human cloning far outweigh any ignorant fears...

I am in favor of cloning human parts, like most cases when a person need a transplant they have to wait months or years, if we could make the cloning of human parts in just few months a lot of people would have live. Now another point for cloning would be animals in extinction. These animals that can be benifull to the ambient and for food in the future. Or we can clone vegetable for our comsumption. I think these are the right ways of implement cloning in our world.

I think that humanity is moving in that direction whether I like it or not. I also think it will be one of the uglier intersections of religions and science. I further think that I will not be able to afford this procedure in this life.

So I think I will argue about it next time around.

motsie

Hmm, cloning sounds like a good idea on the surface...

But ethically
lf you are going to play with fire, you will eventually be burned. Who knows what these clones would be like in the long run? They would be a copy of the person. NOT the real person. If I died, and was cloned...I would be beyond offended. If they respected me, and loved me so much, why would they want an inexect copy of me?

Religiosly
I believe in reincarnation, so if I was cloned...then reincarnated into...my sisters son, how awkward would that be. I have read that children can remember things from their past life, because they just got back from the divine, and gradually forget as they get older. How would a clone have a spirit? It would just be artificial, because in the few religions I have studied they believe their spirit is eternal. So after you die, you are reincarnated (in my religion), so there are only a set number of souls that were made at the begining of time. Either the clone would have no spirit, or it would have a manmade one...

I just really really dont like the idea.

I'm neither for nor against it. Cloning yourself is pretty useless unless there's some way to transfer consciousness into the new body. Cloning animals for meat, leather, etc. doesn't bother me at all. Cells are cells, when all is said and done, and eating cloned meat is no different than eating the original cow that clone came from. Your burger is still going to taste the same. *shrug*

There was a company called Genetic Savings and Clone that would clone your cat for a cool $50K. They had a cloned cat and its progenitor on some morning show, and even though the two were genetically identical, there were radical differences in personality. They had the cats in clear carriers next to each other, and they were hissing at each other like normal cats that have never seen each other before. Then, the original panicked because it was trying to get out of the cage and started to cry. The copy realised it was in a cage, sniffed around, realised the top was locked, and settled down on its pillow inside the cage and went to sleep--remaining calm the whole time. Identical genetics don't guarantee identical personalities.

Now I'm all for stem cell research. If it can grow new organs and cure diseases, I don't see anything at all wrong with it, and to me all this controversy is leading all of us up a blind alley and wasting time that could be better utilised doing other things than arguing.