CLONING
CLONING
Cloning is one of the most controversial science-related issues of this century, and most people have developed a stance on the issue that is typically determined both by the information they have been exposed to and their moral or religious beliefs. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, most people have serious questions about the safety and morality of cloning and its uses. Scientists are constantly pushing the limits of cloning under the premise of "advancing humanity", and one wonders where the ultimate line will be drawn - many countries currently ban human cloning, but will this approval that scientists have received to create a mouse with human brain cells, we seem to be at the mercy of the desires and curiosities of the scientists and the governments that support them.
Cloning involves duplicating the genes of a "parent" or donor organism, making an exact genetic copy of the being; sexual reproduction, which is used by most animals and plants to procreate, combines genes from both male and female parents. Some organisms, such as yeast, protozoa, blue-green algae, and bacteria reproduce by way of cloning - they reproduce themselves without union or aid from another, passing on their genetic material to the offspring, making them genetically identical to the parent. While natural cloning is generally reserved for simple life forms, other organisms sometimes reproduce by cloning: the water hyacinth often sends out stems from its body, which grow into a genetic duplicate of the parent plant, and the hydra (a tiny animal that inhabits ponds) grows a baby hydra from its side, eventually shedding the duplicate, which grows into a fully-functioning adult.
While cloning seems like a recent issue, it is not. Cloning has been used in agriculture for thousands of years, and we have been eating cloned food without realizing it. Some grapes used to make wine in Europe are clones of grapes first grown 2000 years ago! Cox's Orange Pippin apples are clones of a tree from the 19th century, and most Delicious and Macintosh apples are clones as well. Some navel oranges and Idaho potatoes are also clones and have been for some time. Because of cloning, more than 90% of the breeds of corn that were once common in the United States have disappeared; farmers breed two or three varieties of a crop and then clone them, making mass production easier and more profitable. Most people have been eating cloned food without realization.
Scientists soon made the move from cloning plants to cloning animals. The first cloning attempt was made by Hans Spemann in the 1930s, but Spemann was unsuccessful. Robert Briggs and Thomas J. King attempted to clone a frog in the 1950s, and while they were successful in creating tadpoles, none of the cloned tadpoles matured into fully developed frogs. The next big step came when the Roslin Institute produced Megan and Morag, clones of a sheep made from embryonic cells. The production of Megan and Morag did not attract much attention from the media; it wasn't until the Roslin Institute produced a clone made from adult cells that the media and scientific community became shaken. Dolly the sheep was born in 1996 - the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell. In 1997 a Wisconsin company, Infigen, cloned a bull that they named Gene. 1997 also brought the creation of the first cloned primates; two cloned rhesus monkeys named Ditto and Neti were produced, proving that cloning can work in primates.
Tests have been done to show that cloning may be a solution to saving endangered species such as the Enderby cow. Chinese scientists are considering cloning the panda and hope to create a panda embryo in the lab and implant it into the womb of another animal, such as a dog, which will give birth to a baby panda! Others want to clone their pets and some dream of resurrecting dinosaurs.
Supporters of cloning claim that the technology will improve the lives of all human beings. Cloning food will produce more food that is of "better quality" than traditional farming. Cloning cattle and other livestock will produce more milk and meat, which they claim will help increase the food supply. Cloning human beings will give humans more reproductive control and options, and will give us a way to "overcome death". Making clones of lab rats and other animals will provide scientists with a testing group with no genetic variation, helping them in their search for cures for diseases and understanding disease processes.
In April of 2005, the Human Genome Organization urged governments to allow some human cloning for stem-cell research - but not for reproduction - saying a blanket cloning ban could set back efforts to develop new medical treatments. Stem-cell research involves making stem cells (unformed cells in the body that can grow into bone, muscle and other tissues) from week-old human embryos. Many scientists are urging governments to allow the cloning of these types of cells in hopes of finding a cure for Parkinson's, Diabetes, and other illnesses. Scientists claim that cloned stem cells or even embryos are "products of nuclear transfer" and lack the basic human potential, and therefore should not be considered a form of human life. If these organisms are not considered human, there will be no moral or ethical concerns involving their use.
Other people are taking cloning another step further: they desire to clone lost relatives. Marion Vuchetich wants to clone her son, Matthew, who died in an accident at the age of 37. In fact, pro-cloning groups claim that many want to clone their children who have passed. Some gay men see cloning as an option to have a biological child. Groups of scientists are currently working on creating a human clone, though many of them have not gone public with their agenda. The Raelians, a group that believes human beings were created by extraterrestrials as clones, claims to have already cloned thirteen human babies through their cloning project called Clonaid. Some of these cloned children are said to be living in Australia, Mexico (2 of them), Brazil, Spain, Italy, England, and Hong Kong. According to the Clonaid website, "They are all healthy and no problem has been found in any one of them that could be attributed to their mode of conception." Clonaid reports that they perform 10-15 implantations of clones every month. Clonaid and the Raelian organization have not yet come forward with any evidence supporting their claims of creating cloned human beings, and they claim to be looking for a scientist who will verify their creations as being clones.
Most supporters of human cloning feel that a cloned being is or will be a full being; they ascertain that a cloned human being will be no different than a human being that is produced naturally. They support this idea by reminding us that there have been human clones ever since there have been human beings - identical twins. While it is true that identical twins have the same genetic makeup, comparing twins to clones is absurd, as twins are obtained when a woman's egg becomes fertilized by a man's sperm and splits into two. The two portions of the egg develop into two babies with the same genetic makeup. Cloned beings, on the other hand, are made either from embryonic cells or cells from an adult being, which is not comparable to sexual reproduction in any way; to produce a clone, DNA can be obtained from dead skin, blood, or a cell from a piece of hair, and this DNA is inserted into a cell that has had its nucleus removed.
The idea that a cloned human being is or will be a full being and no different than a naturally-produced human being is ludicrous and impossible. This new petri-dish creation can be no more human than the Star Trek character, Data, an android with humanlike features but robotic or zombie-like mannerisms. Spiritually, this being is simply an unnatural and man-made monster without roots or a spiritual life. One of the most obvious structures that a cloned being lacks is parents (yet scientists dare to compare a twin who has a mother and a father with a clone who is a copy of one person's genetic material)! This may seem like a minor detail in modern society where single-parent households are considered normal and healthy and where mothers and fathers don't feel like their children need both their mother and their father, but family connections are vital for human beings.
According to Kemetic initiatic teachings, there are many dimensions to a human being. A human being is not just a body and "soul", but a complex being with up to nine different components that make him a complete human. Each of these components plays a vital role and is necessary if one is to live a life that is completely human. One of these components is the physical body (the knowledge of the others is part of the initiation and cannot be discussed here), and science seems to be succeeding in its attempt to concoct a replica of the human form. The others... the others simply are not able to be made in a petri dish or laboratory; even if the scientists knew the realities of the spiritual nature of a human being, these other components of a man simply are not physical and do not obey the laws of the physical world. Creating a clone of a full human being may result in a physical copy of that person, but this clone can never possess the other non-material components of a full human being. The Kemetic Initiation also teaches us that the family lines are imperative to the life of a human. A human being must have a father and a mother, and throughout millions of years of human history, every human being possessed these fundamental necessities (until now! The importance of the family line must not be underestimated - one's spiritual well-being depends on having a mother, a father, and ancestors. A father gives a child the bloodline (and thus a past and a future), and the mother(s) give a child a destiny (a future). Without these basic structures, a being cannot be a full human being, but rather a peanut shell without the nut. One who has a deeper understanding of reincarnation and of the spiritual realities of a human being cannot deny these realities; because the system has no interest in its subjects knowing the realities of life, most of us are stuck in dead-end religions and in cycles of faith and belief rather than holding the knowledge that will allow us to progress and live as complete and conscious beings.
A human clone as a full human being? Impossible. Yes, a human being can create another human being; in fact, the only way a child can come into existence is through other human beings. But the creation of a human being can only be done through nature; any other attempt at creation will only succeed in producing a body without a "soul" or "spirit" and a tree without roots or fruit.