What will human cloning lead to? Saving lives, or complete break-down of morality? Can the human soul be replicated?

The talk of cloning has come up more than ever recently. The rumor of a human being having been cloned has everyone buzzing everywhere about all different aspects of this one issue. It is not, however, a new issue. The question of cloning humans has come up for years. Questions such as "can it be done?" And when it seemed most likely that eventually it could, should it be done? No one, of course, can ever put a definite answer on the latter, but we can all voice our opinions on the topic as loudly or quietly as we like. Truth is almost all of us have some sort of opinion on the matter. Here is mine.

Cloning is a new frontier that we are only starting to breech. Should we be even be exploring this frontier? That's a touchy question in itself, however there are too many good things that can come out of cloning to be ignored or dismissed completely by simple objections. Things such as disease and famine can be greatly affected by cloning. The potential for wonderous things to come of this is certainly undeniable. However we do have to sit back and ask, at what cost? Cloning parts or organs in order to save more lives is one thing, but cloning an actual being? Isn't this a little beyond playing God?

It seems already that society has worked hard to "dehumanize" the unborn child. This has been going on for decades, I certainly wouldn't expect a sudden turn around, now. But we cannot simply write our laws and word our books to never acknowledge the possibility of an unborn child being alive then wonder why so many infants are abandoned, murdered, and neglected. This is a whole different problem in itself to be addressed in a different article, but I can't help but wonder will the concept of cloning bring about a new problem of a much more epidemic proportion? The "devaluing" of human life in all stages?

If we can take a moment to see how the dehumanizing of an unborn child affects us, how will the dehumanizing or devaluing of life in all stages affect us? We speak of clones as though they were mirror images, copies, duplicates, or xeroxes of the subject being cloned. What do we do with them once we have opened this door? Do people create clones to have organs to harvest in case they become ill? Will clones get the same protection under the law that "normal" humans get or will they be treated as objects to obtain when needed? And if so, how is this not another form of legalized murder? These are delicate topics not to be addressed lightly when considering whether or not we should be persuing this matter.

The thing I feel we must remember when we speak of cloning a human. A human clone is simply a human created with an identical genetic code as another human. This is nearly the same concept as an identical twin, only the "twin" is born sometime later and not created by nature. If you really thought about it you'd probably see that a human clone is no less human than an identical twin. It would NOT be the same person mentally and spiritually as the person being cloned although genetically it would be. Our minds and souls are what make us individuals. Identical twins are a prime example of how the same genetic code doesn't make you the same human being. And on a religious basis, I certainly believe they each have privelege of possessing a soul of their own. A clone would be, in all senses, no different than this. The personality, memories, experiences, preferences, and tastes of this clone would be different than that of the subject being cloned, just as if it had been a twin. You cannot revive a dead human being, or escape death by cloning yourself. This person will be unique and deserving of all considerations, rights, and liberties any other human being. Not to mention, this clone will be a whole new being, separate and unique, in the eyes of God.

So why clone a human? It seems a little arrogant to think we can take over the role of God or nature (whichever you believe in), and to accomplish what? Just to prove we can? I doubt that's all it will lead to. I'm sure somewhere along the lines if it isn't suggested it will be attempted to use clones for harvesting parts to save "real human" lives. When one considers the things that are done today: embryos being created for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells and then being destroyed (because they are not considered human beings, not created by nature, and not belonging to a mother who wants them), you can realize this is only a small and very possible step away.

In closing I will say I believe this is a frontier we should be leaving alone. The cloning of an actual living being, human or animal, should never be made without the respect that this is indeed creating another living being that is it's own person or individual with it's own soul. Can humanity really be so arrogant as to think a life isn't a life unless nature created it, and a mother wanted it? Truth is, I don't think we should find out.