Cloning humans is one of the mainstays of science fiction, but could it be a reality? The truth is, the science and technology possibly already exist. The idea of cloning humans is perhaps a controversial subject. For better or for worse, it seems likely that eventually a human will likely be fully cloned and will grow to an adult somewhere at some time.
Cloning already happens often in nature; many organisms can reproduce asexually, and some can reproduce vegetatively – that is, without producing seeds or spores. A good example of this is with plants. Horticulturists regularly grow new plants from cuttings of other plants, and some plants naturally reproduce vegetatively, producing genetically identical plants. Even cloning humans happens naturally in rare cases, such as identical twins.
In recent decades, scientists have started cloning animals. The first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell was Dolly the sheep in 1996. Since then, the technology has gotten only better. Resulting clones that used to have health problems are now being created without any major health problems.
Can this technology be used for cloning humans? In theory, yes it can. But it’s highly controversial. In many countries there are laws against cloning humans, although in America there is currently no federal ban on human cloning. A few reproductive doctors in the U.S. have attempted to clone human embryos, such as Dr. Panayiotis Zavos, but have been unsuccessful or not verified. The point is, there is already research in human cloning going on. It could be advancing further every day.
Thus, ethical questions rise about the legal status of clones. Would they be granted full rights under the law? What about human cloning to harvest their organs? At what point does cloning go too far? Some have also raised the question about the malicious use of human cloning by governments and organizations to control or shape society. The concerns about cloning humans will only continue to grow as the technology becomes more accessible to scientists, and the potential benefits of cloning become more popular, with more research being done.
