Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human being.

The term
generally refers to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and
tissue. There are many different ways that human cloning could be used in the future. For
example, it could be used to create organs for transplantation or to produce stem cells for
research purposes. It could also be used to create copies of people who have died, although
this is currently only possible in science fiction. The vast of possibilities of what can be done
with human cloning has raised the question of whether or not human cloning should be
legalised. This question has been confounding governments worldwide ever since the cloning
of the first living organism, Dolly the Sheep, was announced in 1997.
At present, there is no international consensus on whether or not human cloning should be
legalised. In some countries, such as the United States, legislation has been introduced that
would ban all forms of human cloning. In other countries, such as China and South Korea,
legislation that would allow certain forms of therapeutic cloning (for medical research
purposes) but prohibit reproductive cloning (the creation of cloned children) has been
introduced. Furthermore, more than 45 countries ban or restrict human cloning in some form
which makes it likely that this debate is likely to continue in the years ahead.
Proponents of this idea state that, cloning can be beneficial for patients who are in urgent
need of an organ transplant. The average time taken for an organ to reach a patient is 3 to 5
years in the USA and is even longer in less developed parts of the world. Furthermore, there
is always the possibility that the organ might be rejected by the recipient’s body which can
lead to further complications. Cloning humans for organ farming can be a way to combat this
as the organ will be an exact match with the patient’s body. This process is known as
therapeutic cloning. However, many people argue that biotechnology hasn’t advanced enough
in order to achieve flawless cloning. Currently, the failure rate of cloning stands at 89 percent
which does not make it a viable solution for organ farming. Additionally, cloning humans can
be a way to discover new treatments for diseases that were once thought to be incurable.
Clones can also be a way to test the effectiveness of DNA-modifying treatments such as stem
cell treatments and RNA modification which have been recently used in the COVID-19
vaccine.
However, there are a number of ethical concerns associated with human cloning. These
concerns typically fall into one of three categories: the rights of the child, the rights of the
parents, and the impact on society. The first concern is the rights of the child. It is unclear
what kind of life a cloned child would have, and whether or not they would be treated as
equal to other children. There is also a risk that clones could be used for unethical purposes,
such as creating “designer babies” or military soldiers. The second concern is the rights of the
parents. Parents who use cloning to create a child may have unrealistic expectations for their
offspring and may be disappointed if they do not meet these expectations. Cloned children
may also feel like they are living in their parent’s shadow and may have difficulty developing
their own identities. The third concern is the impact on society. If human cloning became
commonplace, it could lead to a decrease in genetic diversity, which could have negative
consequences for humanity as a whole. Human cloning could lead to social stratification,
with “normal” people being seen as inferior to those who can afford to clone themselves or
their children. Moreover, opponents argue that cloning is an artificial process that is meant to
mimic the natural process of birth, the cloning of living organisms can lead to a domino
effect and can disturb the balance of the ecosystem which is already under threat due to
phenomena such as global warming and overpopulation.
As more information becomes available about the potential risks and benefits of human
cloning, it will become easier for policymakers to make informed decisions about whether or
not to legalise this technology, but it is ultimately up to society to decide whether or not the
practice should be allowed.