答案　　

My Views on Human Cloning

  　　With human cloning becoming a near-term, prospect, we are brought face-to-face with the most basic ethical questions of life. Opinions differ widely as to whether human cloning should be prohibited.

　　True, human cloning clearly has much to offer. By using cells from the patient's own body to grow organs to replace diseased parts, the problem of rejection can be avoided. This might prove useful, for example, in fighting leukemia through bone marrow transplants. But what about making an identical copy of a human being?

　　Ian Wilmut, who created Dolly the sleep, finds the idea offensive. Professor Hank Greely at Stanford also finds the suggestion deeply disturbing. For one thing, the technology is far from perfect. There may be lots of miscarriages and deformed clones. What shall we do with them? Shall we keep the healthy clones and just kill off the ones with a deformed body or defective brains? That, I am afraid., would offend the religious beliefs of a great many people. For another, even if the technology is perfected, who can guarantee no one will misuse it for evil purposes? To clone a Hitler, for example, or to produce new class divisions, with some designed to lead and others designed tot serve?

　　Therefore, I am strongly opposed to human cloning for reproductive purposes. The government should enact laws to prohibit it before it is too late. Non-reproductive cloning, on the other hand, should be encouraged. It may mean hope to many who are waiting desperately for organs for transplantation to serve their lives. If used wisely the technology may eventually free humans from many kinds of suffering that today seem unavoidable.