I am My Twin Brother's Father (Ethics of Cloning)

In 1996, a so-called scientific breakthrough occurred, Dolly, a sheep, was born. By now, almost everyone has heard of this sheep, it was the first successful clone that used an adult cell. These scientists didn’t fully know the amount of impact this would cause in the scientific community. According to Ronald Bailey, scientists in Oregon claimed to have cloned monkeys and suggested the possibility of human cloning. Upon receive this interesting information, “President Clinton rushed to ban federal funding of human cloning research” (Bailey, par. 2). Bailey states that Clinton banned “federal funding” until the “National Bioethics Advisory Commission issues a report on the ethical implications of human cloning” (Bailey, par. 2). This was just the beginning of the endless debate.

To start, there are two distinct types of cloning that need to be addressed. The first, therapeutic cloning is a rather selfish method of cloning. Robert Sparrow explains, “Therapeutic cloning is hypothetical cloning of an individual for the purpose of procuring tissues from the clone, which will serve some therapeutic purpose in relation to the person cloned…typically involves the creation of a human embryo with the intention of later destroying it” (Sparrow, 2). This explanation can be demonstrated with an example: Imagine a doctor’s office where you go in and they take a sample of your DNA. They create a clone using your DNA, but alter it and take out the instructions to be conscious. The clone is conceived but instead of sending it to a loving home, they send it to a storage freezer located in the office. Now, this may sound a little gruesome and unethical, but for just a low storage fee per month you have the perfect insurance policy. If anything goes wrong with your organs throughout your life, with the exception of your brain, you have a perfect donor match, your clone. Balwant Rai addresses this example, “Human cloning would solve the problem of finding a transplant donor who is an acceptable organ or tissue match and would eliminate, or drastically reduce, the risk of transplant rejection by the host” (Rai, par. 6). This example may have possibly been a little extreme, but at least it gets the basic understanding of therapeutic cloning across.

The second and more humane method of cloning is called reproductive cloning. Sparrow also explains this very well: “Reproductive cloning aims at the creation of a whole person in order to satisfy the reproductive desires of some couple or individual” (Sparrow, 2). This method is significantly easier to understand. It is basically cloning to create an additional member of the family.

Cloning can be seen as ethical. Sparrow includes three scenarios where he feels cloning would indeed be ethical. The first scenario: “one or both members of a heterosexual couple are unable to make a genetic contribution to the genotype of a child because of their failure to produce or possess viable gametes” (Sparrow, 3). The second scenario, “where the inability to provide viable gametes results from a same sex couple, or perhaps even a single person, being unwilling to allow another person to make a genetic contribution to the process of reproduction” (Sparrow, 4). Finally, the last scenario, “a couple who have already conceived a child and who are unable to conceive another by any means. By cloning their existing child they could provide him/her with an identical sibling, that would be related to both his/ her parents” (Sparrow, 4). Some scenarios may be more ethical than others, but this is certain, all can be resolved in less controversial ways such as artificial insemination or adoption. Sparrow points out some interesting psychological effects the clone may have: “The ‘genetic relation’ between siblings, who share roughly half their DNA with each other, is the same as the relation between parents and their children” (Sparrow, 6). When considering cloning we have to think about the relationship of clones to siblings, siblings to siblings, and parents to children. Sparrow suggests that, “Even if I am related to my clone, my parents are more related in the appropriate way” (Sparrow, 8). He explains that if you had a clone of yourself, your parents should have the parental rights over it simply because it would be like having a late twin. In a way, being a parent over your clone would be like trying to be a parent over one of your siblings. Sparrow states that your parents could possibly even have a custody battle over your clone in the courts system. This could even bring up political issues because our supreme courts would have to create laws concerning clones in society. We see this today with seragent mothers. Luckily, He clears that possibility up by stating, “it is the intention to bring the child into the world that makes the donor the parent” (Sparrow, 8). Having a clone would be almost exactly like having a twin, and “no one has argued that twins are immoral” (Bailey, par. 7). According to Rai, “Human cloning and research on human cloning might make possible important advances in scientific knowledge” (Rai, par. 6).
Cloning can also be seen as unethical. It seems there are a lot more reasons for cloning to be unethical then for it to be ethical. The basic unit for cloning to be possible starts with the blastocyst, which is full of stem cells. Joe Leigh Simpson says, “If the blastocyst…is defined as a person, therapeutic cloning is not ethically considered acceptable” (Simpson, 1). Like cloning, stem cell research is a very controversial subject and a whole different paper could be written on it. Basically there are many people who believe blastocysts are in fact humans, so it limits the studies that scientists can do with them. In having a clone industry, “demand for babies with outstanding intelligence, strength, beauty etc., would create an industry of fetuses which would be sold to potential parents desiring such children” (Rai, par. 3). Rai also warns, “there will be the threat of a ‘black market’ for fetuses created from people with ‘positive’ characteristics” (Rai, par. 3). If the “black market” accepted babies then this could raise many more ethical issues concerning placing a price tag on a human being. Some people could abuse the child’s rights and make them slaves. Another interesting thing pointed out was the possibility of cloning Hitler or other historical figures: the “clone of a particularly exemplary individual, perhaps with some special capabilities and accomplishments, he or she may experience excessive pressure to reach the very high standards of ability and accomplishments of the [donor]” (Rai, par. 8). In a mixed family of clones and “normal” children, the clones may contribute to the feeling of “inadequacy among siblings who do not share a parents genome” (Rai, par. 9). The child would be a twin of one of the parents. Now, how do you think this could make the clone or the siblings feel? Bailey describes a more practical effect cloning could have: “if enough human beings were cloned, pathogens would likely adapt and begin to get the upper hand, causing widespread disease” (Bailey, par. 16). Diversity in DNA is key to our survival against disease. Bailey is saying that if we all had the same genes, diseases could easily become wide spread, even to the point of destroying a civilization. Since we all have different genes, diseases have a much harder time destroying us.

In conclusion, cloning has profound ethical issues surrounding it. Each side, whether you are arguing if it’s ethical or not, has very convincing viewpoints. It is very hard to even guess where this conversation is going to end up. There are many things to put into consideration on this topic. In the future there is a great possibility that cloning research will have federal funding, it just depends on if the benefits outweigh the consequences. Who knows, maybe we will clone Abraham Lincoln, Einstein, or even Jesus Christ.

Works Cited

Bailey, Ronald. "The twin paradox." Reason 29.1 (May 1997): 52. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WSU Stuart Library, Ogden, UT. 23 Sep. 2008 .

Rai, Balwant, et al. "Human Clone: Who Is Related To Whom." Internet Journal of Law, Healthcare & Ethics 4.2 (23 Feb. 2007): 1-1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WSU Stuart Library, Ogden, UT. 23 Sep. 2008 .

Simpson, Joe Leigh. "Could cloning become permissible." Reproductive BioMedicine Online 14 (02 Feb. 2007): 125-129. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WSU Stuart Library, Ogden, UT. 23 Sep. 2008 .

Sparrow, Robert. "CLONING, PARENTHOOD, AND GENETIC RELATEDNESS." Bioethics 20.6 (Nov. 2006): 308-318. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WSU Stuart Library, Ogden, UT. 23 Sep. 2008 .

Catching Up on Things

So it's been about 6 months since my last post, sorry guys but I have been kinda busy with school and work. A lot of things have happened from my last post, I will list some things that have happened since then...

• I went on to solve the 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, & 5x5 Rubik's Cubes. Shortly after I solved the 5x5 I completely lost interest in all forms of Rubik's Cube puzzles.
• I got fired from Focus and hired at a door to door job called WorldMark™.
• After about a month at WorldMark I decided to quit and I went back to Focus for the 4th time!
• I passed English 1010, Math 1050, Comunications 2010, & Psychology 1010
• I Quit the OWATC
• I got a job as a Knife Salesman for CUTCO™ and quit after the 3rd day.
• I competed in a hotdog eating contest and lost.
• I am a partner in a Web Development Business. (http://www.webfroerer.com/)
• I applied for financial aid and was denied.
• I went to a Marilyn Manson concert and survived! (he was banned for another 10 years in Utah for burning a Bible)
• I got involved with SLNU
• I was asked to three different Proms at three differnent schools and I went to all of them. (the girl paid!)
• I played on the tennis team and quit after 3 weeks
• I got back into running.
• I lost 20 pounds
• I did some community service
• I graduated from Ogden High School
• I went camping.
• I got a 1990 Bronco II!!!
• I almost have my license!!
• I got a 30GB iPod!! I'm so glad.
• I turn 18 next Wednesday (07/02/2008)
• And finaly, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE!

There you have it, that is what happened since the last time I wrote. I will update it if i think of more things. I'd say its a lot of things.

So anyway, my sister's wedding reception is today and I tried to go to work but they wouldn't let me because there was too many people there.. so I guess I will go to her reception.

I will try to update you on things more often but sometimes I just feel like I am writing to nothingless because no one leaves comments. SO LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS AND I WILL WRITE MORE OFTEN!!

Thanks,

Kevin Whited

The Need for Religion

Today was an awesome day, I finally learned how to solve a rubix cube! Its cool but there is a lot of patterns that you have to memorize. It snowed a lot today so there was really nothing else to do.

I have an Ethnographic Essay due tomorrow for English so I worked on that. It is about Man's need for religion.

here it is:

---

Man’s Desperate Need for Religion

Why does man have a need for religion? This is the question that often pops into my head when I am sitting at church. I want to say right now, before I get into things, that I am not an Atheist. I am a Mormon and I go to church every week. At times I wonder why I’m there, I could be snowboarding or doing something important, but every week, I still go and sit for three hours listening to people talk about our religion. Why is religion so important that millions of people dedicate their time and money to teach it and live by it? Through this paper I hope we can find an answer.

First, I’m going to go over the many elements of religion. Most religions are based upon a specific event in history. For example, Jesus Christ is believed to be the messiah. Most religions believe in a higher power or God that governs all people. They also have set standards to live by or certain things you can and cannot do. They have a specific location to gather and worship on a specific day. Some religions can’t really even be considered religion, take Theravada Buddhism for example. Thomas A. Idinopulos writes, “Here is a something called "religion" which is not a religion. Although Theravada Buddhism is usually included in any book on the world's religions, it is not theistic, recognizes no sacred being or beings, and does not officially encourage worship of Buddha or any "higher being" (despite popular veneration of the Buddha-ideal). Theravada Buddhism appears to be a technique or program for human self-purification or self-fulfillment or self-negation.” So not all religions believe in a god.

Some people might wonder, is religion a scam? Did the government create it to control the people and get revenue? Why can’t it be proven? You might be thinking that whoever asks these types of questions must be paranoid. Austin Cline wrote, “One of the reasons for the existence of religion is that it's an effective means for society's powerful to control everyone else.” Diana Hardman states, “It is proven in statistics that without God as a basis for living that crime, sex, drugs, etc. has greatly increased.” So this shows that whether the Government created religion or not, religion does decrease a person’s motivation to commit crime. There is no solid evidence that there is a god or higher being. On the contrary, evolution has been proven on a microscopic level, InfoZine News says, “DNA sequencing and molecular biology have provided a wealth of information about evolutionary relationships among species.” So it is up to the person if they want to believe in a particular religion or not.

A major reason a person would want to be part of a religion is they want a feeling of belonging. Some people join a religion because they feel their life has no purpose and they want to put meaning to their life. Ohio State University Research states that there are 16 desires of humans that attract them to religion, “The desires are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility.” Ohio State also stated, “people embrace religion because of a fear of death, as expressed in the saying ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’.”

There are many reasons why people need religion. As stated in the previous paragraph, people need a sense of belonging, direction, power and family. Imagine a world with no religion, what would it be like? What kinds of problems would there be? Without religion what is the purpose of our existence? It’s surely not to just live, reproduce and then die. There has to be something more meaningful to life. It’s up to you to decide if you want to have a long purposeful life, or to live in fear of dying. It’s an easy decision for me.

---

There you have it. Feedback is appreciated.

Subway "Feast"

Sorry guys that I havent posted in a week, I try to update daily. I have just been busy with parties and post-christmas stuff. Anyway today is New Years and thought I had to work today, so I went down to to my work, on time, and I found out that they were closed today! I was so happy! When I got home I remembered that I had a big review paper due tomorrow for my English 1010 class. I went right to work and this is what I came up with:

"          I used to work at Subway and of course I tried all of their sandwiches. They just came out with a brand new sandwich called “The Feast” and I am going to review it. I was excited when I found out they came out with a new sandwich because they haven’t came out with any since I worked there one year ago. It only took me two months to try all of the Subway sandwiches while I worked there. From the delicious Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki to the revolting artificially flavored Seafood Sub. Every time they come out with a new sub I have to try it. It’s a weakness I have.

          When I got up to the counter I was trying to decide on what to put on the sandwich. I saw a display with a plastic version of the “Feast” in it. For reviewing purposes I made my sandwich look exactly like the display. The “Feast” is composed of five different types of meat: turkey, roast beef, ham, salami, and pepperoni. The toppings that I put on it included: American cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and green peppers.

          After paying I sat down to eat the massive sandwich. I only got a six-inch “Feast” because I didn’t think I would survive the foot long. I could barely fit my mouth on it to get a bite. After I took the first bite I noticed the strong spicy pepperoni taste. It was kind of unpleasant but still better than most of their sandwiches. I don’t like eating a sandwich where there is more meat than vegetables. The meat was stacked at least an inch high. After eating it most people would feel guilty about how many calories they just ingested. If I were to rate the overall taste, I would give it a 7/10.

          Jeff Girod, also known as the Fast Food Guy, on www.pe.com stated, “Subway has hired Peter Griffin from ‘Family Guy’ as its official spokesman. It's a move I applaud, because anything endorsed by a cartoon character just tastes better.” I disagree with this statement because the Subway “Feast” is no better than a classic turkey sub and twice the price. If you wanted to order a Subway “Feast” you would have to pay a whopping $9.09 for a foot long or $5.59 for a six inch. Although, I admit, the “Feast” was quite filling and it did give me a lot of energy.

          The overall quality of the sandwich was great. At this particular Subway restaurant they have a new system that refrigerates the vegetables and meats in their containers. It is a great invention and works well. The manager at the store makes sure that all of the bread is freshly baked the same day. So this is the only Subway that I will eat at.

          As for the Nutrition of the seemingly unhealthy sandwich, www.thenewstribune.com says, “The site [subway.com] featured a ‘Nutrition Information’ button for every just about every sandwich – except the Feast.” I think that Subway doesn’t want to contradict their healthy appearance. I found a page at www.subway.com that shows all of the nutritional information for all of the toppings and meats so I am going to add them up to see how many calories are in a six inch “Feast” with Italian bread, American cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and green peppers. With all of the toppings, bread, and meat, the total amount comes to a whopping 1210 calories and 48.5 grams of fat.

[UPDATE: Subway recently posted the amount of calories and fat in a Feast Sub, 590 calories and 25 grams of fat! I was way off! The info is at Nutrition Values(thanks Chris!)]

          After reviewing the “Feast” I have concluded to never eat this unhealthy sandwich again. It may taste good but it packs in a lot of unwanted calories. I can’t even imagine what would happen to you if you ate a foot long “Feast” every day. I’ll tell you one thing though; you might really end up looking just like Peter Griffin from the cartoon Family Guy."

Tell me what you think. I hope I get an A on it!