The twenty-first century is the birth of biotechnology to some people. We have seen cloned animals such as sheep and the three-cloned cows. What about human clones? Will cloning a human be a mistake or a miracle? Biotechnology shows us now that a human clone might be possible. The idea of human cloning has been in science fiction movies for decades. With the rising technology and the devotion of scientists, the possibility of human cloning is very high. There were predictions that claimed that the first human baby will be cloned no later than the year 2005. There are many people wondering the effects on cloning, but at the same time, there is a huge concern on the amount of risks there are involved in human cloning. Especially considering most people have not investigated into the science of cloning. The Cloning of humans could cause more harm than good or it could be the next revolutionary advancement in science.
Scottish scientist created a cloned sheep named Dolly. Dolly opened the door of opportunities for scientist across the world. Although it took 275 attempts until success, leaving a 20% success rate of cloning, it did not hold back scientists from continuing the task of successful cloning. However scientists should consider holding off on cloning humans, as they are different from sheep. Humans have larger and more functional frontal lobes, more complex internal organs, and different genome structure.
Many ethical, religious and legal issues have arisen from the possibility of human cloning. In many countries there have been laws placed to make it illegal for scientist to try to clone humans. The United States has not passed any federal laws on human cloning, but several states have passed on their own laws to ban the practice. Although the Food and Drug Administration requires that anyone in the United States who is planning in participating in the practice of human cloning must first be granted permission. Japan feels that human cloning is a crime and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. While on the other hand England has allowed the cloning of human embryos
