BUTUAN DOCTORS’ COLLEGE

NCM 108 (HEALTH CARE ETHICS)

PREVALENCE OF BIOETHICAL ISSUES
 REPORTERS

MILKY MUCA JAMES TABANAO GWENETH MONDANO

CLONING
WHAT IS CLONING?
● Cloning is a technique scientists use to
make exact genetic copies of living things.
● Genes, cells, tissues, and even whole
animals can all be cloned.
● Scientists also make clones in the lab. They
often clone genes in order to study and
better understand them.
● To clone a gene, researchers take DNA from
a living creature and insert it into a carrier
like bacteria or yeast. Every time that carrier
reproduces, a new copy of the gene is
made.
 Human Cloning
the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone)
of a human.

● The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning,

which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue.
● It does not refer to the natural conception and delivery
of identical twins.
● The possibility of human cloning has raised controversies.
● These ethical concerns have prompted several nations to
pass laws regarding human cloning.
Types of human cloning:
1. Therapeutic cloning involves cloning cells from a
human for use in medicine and transplants.

2. Reproductive cloning involves making an entire

cloned human, instead of just specific cells or
tissues.
 METHODS OF CLONING

1. Embryo Twinning
● Scientists first split an embryo
in half. Those two halves are
then placed in a mother’s
uterus.
● Each part of the embryo
develops into a unique animal,
and the two animals share the
same genes.
METHODS OF CLONING

2. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

● Somatic cells, on the other hand,
already contain two full sets of
chromosomes.
● To make a clone, scientists transfer the
DNA from an animal’s somatic cell into
an egg cell that has had its nucleus and
DNA removed.
● The egg develops into an embryo that
contains the same genes as the cell
donor.
● Then the embryo is implanted into an
adult female’s uterus to grow.
 Dolly: The First Cloned Animal
● In 1996, Scottish scientists cloned the
first animal, a sheep they named Dolly. She
was cloned using an udder cell taken from an
adult sheep. Since then, scientists
have cloned cows, cats, deer, horses, and
rabbits.
● They still have not cloned a human, though.
In part, this is because it is difficult to
produce a viable clone. In each attempt,
there can be genetic mistakes that prevent
the clone from surviving.
● It took scientists 276 attempts to get Dolly
right. There are also ethical concerns about
cloning a human being.
 Types of Artificial Cloning
1. Gene cloning
• which creates copies of
genes or segments of DNA.
• This technique is commonly
used today for isolating long
or unstudied genes and
protein expression.
The process involves:
•Extraction of gene or DNA fragment from
the genome. Restriction enzymes are used
for DNA fragmentation and extraction.
•Cloning vectors or the Polymerase Chain
Reaction used to generate multiple copies
of the DNA.
•Cloning of DNA is done by methods like
sonication, or agitation using sound waves,
or agarose gel electrophoresis, or
separation of particles by electric current.
2. Reproductive cloning, which creates copies of whole animals

• Reproductive cloning is an artificial cloning method that produces

identical copies of the entire organism. Commonly, reproduction
happens through sexual means, wherein the sperm and the egg of
the parents form an embryo. The method involves genetic
hybridization through which producing an identical copy of the parent
is impossible.

• The most common method used for reproductive cloning is

The Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT).
3. Therapeutic cloning, which creates embryonic stem cells. Researchers hope to
use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the
human body.

• The procedure for therapeutic cloning is similar to reproductive cloning.

However, here it is not intended for creating an entire organism.

• The stem cells are used for treating diseases in patients. This procedure has
proved to be a breakthrough in the field of therapy and medicine.
• Therapeutic cloning is used for producing skin, tissue, cartilage, and bone in
accident and burn victims.
PREVALENCE
● Despite several highly
publicized claims,
human cloning still
appears to be fiction.
There currently is no
solid scientific
evidence that anyone
has cloned human
embryos.
● In 1998, scientists in
South Korea
● In 2002, Clonaid
● In 2004, a group led by
Woo-Suk Hwang of Seoul
National University in
South Korea published a
paper in the
journal Science in
which it claimed to
have created a cloned
human embryo in a test
tube.
 MORAL CONSIDERATION
01 02 03
Here human life does not arise
from an act of love but is
manufactured in the laboratory Societal Prejudice and
Root of human slavery.
to preset specifications Respect for Clones
determined by the desires of
others.

04
The clone will be
treated as a means
05 06
Cloning is Wrong
because it is “Playing
God” or because it is Clones would be
“Unnatural” loveless creations.
BIBLE VERSES ABOUT CLONING
PSAALM 100:3
● ESV Then the Lord God
● Know that the Lord, he is
God! It is he who made
us, and we are his; we
are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture.
GENESIS 2:7 GENESIS 1:26
● Then God said, “Let us make man in
formed the man of dust our image, after our likeness. And let
from the ground and them have dominion over the fish of the
breathed into his nostrils sea and over the birds of the heavens
the breath of life, and the and over the livestock and over all the
man became a living earth and over every creeping thing
creature that creeps on the earth.”
BIBLE VERSES ABOUT CLONING
GENESIS 1:27
● God blessed them. And
● So God created man in
his own image, in the
image of God he created
him; male and female he
created them.
GENESIS 1:28
● Then God said, “Let us make man in
God said to them, “Be
fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth and subdue
it and have dominion
over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the
heavens and over every
living thing that moves on
the earth.”
GENRSIS 1:26
our image, after our likeness. And let
them have dominion over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the heavens
and over the livestock and over all the
earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
ETHICAL CONSIDEDATIONS/ISSUES CLONING

THE ETHICIAL ISSUES WITH REPRODUCTIVE CLONING

● 1. Genetic damage to the clone

● 2. Health risk to the mother
● 3. Very low success rate meaning loss of large
numbers and fetuses
● 4. Psychological harm to the clone
● 5. Complex altered familial relationships, and
commodification of human life
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

1.Legal aspects
From a legal standpoint, the production of cloned human embryos for obtaining
embryonic stem cells touches on issues of embryo protection and the use of
cloning methods on humans. Furthermore, it also raises questions in terms
of patent law.
2. UNO/UNESCO
Article 11 of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights
adopted by UNESCO on 11 November, 1997, states that “practices which are
contrary to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning of human beings, shall
not be permitted”. The legal status of cloning for research purposes is thus left
open.
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

3. Council of Europe
The pertinent passage in the Convention on Human Rights and Dignity of 4 April, 1997,
reads "the creation of human embryos for research purposes is prohibited" This refers to
any form of creation, hence also those created through embryo splitting and cell nuclear
transfer. Of the same Article allows research on human embryos provided “adequate
protection of the embryo” is ensured under national legislation.’’
4.Australia
Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002” as well as the “Prohibition of Human Cloning
for Reproduction Act 2002” apply. Both laws provide a framework for specific legal
regulation in the individual states. The “Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act
2002” which is authoritative for research cloning, prohibits therapeutic as well as
reproductive cloning.
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

5.Belgium
In Belgium, all forms of reproductive cloning are prohibited. In principle, cloning for research purposes
is also prohibited pursuant to the “Law on Research on Embryos in vitro” (2003). However, since
research on embryos in vitro is permitted within the first 14 days of life provided a therapeutic
benefit can be attained with such research in the long term, embryos may be created artificially for
research purposes.

6.Denmark
Important sources of law in Denmark are the law Nr. 460 of 6 June, 1997, the enactment Nr. 728 of
17 September, 1997, as well as the law Nr. 923 of 4 September, 2006. They provide for the
restriction of biomedical research involving fertilised oocytes on studies that aim at the improvement
of medically assisted reproduction, at the improvement of techniques for the detection of severe
hereditary diseases or at gaining insights into treatment methods for human diseases.
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

6. France
the Public Health Code (Code de la santé publique) since 1994, the production of embryos
for research purposes and consumptive embryo research as well as cloning for research and
reproductive purposes have been prohibited in France. With Law 2011-814 of 7 July, 2011
on bioethics, the legislation changed: research on embryos and embryonic stem cells is
allowed under certain conditions.
7. Germany
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Embryo Protection Act (Embryonenschutzgesetz
1991) prohibits the production or use of embryos for any purpose other than to initiate
pregnancy. What is more, all forms of manipulation performed on an embryo created
outside the body that do not serve its preservation are prohibited.
.
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

8.Netherlands
The Netherlands' Embryos Act forbids the creation of embryos for scientific research. However,
within five years of the Embryos Act's entry into force in June 2002, this ban may be lifted by Royal
Decree, so it may be more accurate to refer to it as a moratorium. According to section 11 of the
Embryos Act, such research is only permitted if there are no other viable options for obtaining
embryonic stem cells for use in transplants. Despite the aforementioned, it is currently legal to
extract stem cells from so-called surplus embryos within the first 14 days of fertilization if the
donors have consented.
9.Switzerland
In Switzerland, all forms of human cloning,both for reproductive purposes and in order to obtain human
embryonic stem cells for research purposes, are banned. Article 119, of the Federal Constitution
states: “All forms of cloning and interventions in the genome of human germ cells and embryos are
prohibited.”
LEGAL CONSIDERATION ISSUES OF CLONING

10.USA
In the United States, research involving human embryonic stem cells and research cloning
is not explicitly regulated on a federal level. Instead, legislative power in this respect is in
the hands of the individual states.
Barack Obama’s “Executive Order 13505: Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific
Research Involving Human Stem Cells”. This change of course of US-American bio-politics
opened an intense public debate in which, above all, members of the Bioethics Council
intervened.
On 7 July, 2009, the “2009 Guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research” which had been
developed on the basis of the NIHs recommendations, came into force. Research projects
involving newer stem cell lines are thus now eligible for public funding.
In 2019, public funding for embryonic
stem cell research was restricted
under President Donald Trump by
prohibiting scientists that were
employed by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) from doing research on
human fetal tissue derived from
voluntary abortions.
 PERSONAL REFLECTION ON CLONING.
I believe that there are a lot of advantages to cloning. It is a highly technological way of
improving life in the near future. It can help prevent the extinction of species It can help couples
who want to have children. According to my research, cloning has become a useful technique in
the field of biotechnology Through cloning, transgenic (organisms having genes of interest
inserted in their genome) plants and animals are used to make clones from adults. Children can
now be produced even without donor eggs or donor sperm. Same-sex couples would only need a
"surrogate" parent to carry the clone until its birth. Scientists who support this method believe
that it would become justifiable for these couples to reproduce using this method, assuming the
procedures could be done safely. As far as my research on cloning, my knowledge is being
expanded on how technology can do everything. I have this realization that humans can act like
MILKY MUCA
God by using their knowledge and the morals and ethics God gave us might be forgetful. My
thoughts have changed. Creating a human life is easy now, but it costs a lot of immorality Cloning
is not just helping couples to have a child. Cloning is not about preserving species. It is a business.
It is about expanding new technology and earning money in a world full of advancement. The
perspective of each one of us has changed. People who perform cloning violate the law of God. It
is a reality and we all know it's a fact. But because of money and title, we still do it even if it’s
wrong.
 PERSONAL REFLECTION ON CLONING.
For me Human cloning is morally wrong because it undermines the dignity of the human
person. Instead of cooperating with God’s will to procreate through the conjugal act
of marriage, cloning involves the creation of human life according to scientists’
will and predetermined specifications. The practice of cloning would not only
violate a person’s right to individuality but it would also “reduce diversity in the
human gene pool. Furthermore cloning seems to be using “people as a means” and I
fear that cloning will be used to “produce a subordinate class of humans created as
tissue or organ donors, but there is one advantage of cloning that I agree on. For
me it is ethical for me to clone animals because our environment needs these
creature for its sustainance and cloning is also used to preserve genetic variations
in existing endangered species
Cloning can help to prevent the extinction of other species this helps preserve and
propagate a species that has a difficult time reproducing in captivity, for example
the Giant panda. Cloning provides scientists with the ability to reintroduce genes
into a wild population after they have been lost. It would also free the few
remaining females of an endangered species from the risks of pregnancy . It provides
the opportunity for species that have gone extinct recently to be cloned and
resurrected too. Cloning technology could serve as a "safety net" for future JAMES TABANAO
generations too, by allowing future scientists the ability to help endangered
species because of having access to their stored genetic material. I find it very
difficult to talk about cloning . It is among those issues that, when brought up,
can easily lead to heated debates, right now to be honest I'm still confused cause
my mind still thinking whether I agree or disagree on cloning cause it has
advantages and disadvantage in our life.
 PERSONAL REFLECTION ON CLONING.
We live in a world where technology is very enriched that even cloning an animal or a person is already
possible. However, there are a lot of things that need to be considered in making this kind of procedure.
Cloning has a lot of advantages especially in the field of biotechnology and of course in the field of
research and science where this will help scientists research how different diseases progress, develop
new medicines for humans, enhanced possibilities for organ transplantation, nerve cell tissue healing,
and other benefits. However, it also has a fair share of numerous disadvantages in society. Most
scientists believe that the process of cloning human willl result in even higher failure rates. Not only
does the cloning process have a low success rate, the viable clone suffers an increased risk of serious
genettic malformation, cancer or shortened lifespan. If the technology was legal, it could be abused and
allow eugenic selections with enhancement in human traits. The practice of cloning would not only
violate a person’s right to individuality but it would also “reduce diversity in the human gene pool”
(Savulescu, 1999 and Green, 1999). Personally, I think that human cloning is an unethical action and
could lead to serious violations of human rights as well as human dignity if it is continuously practiced
then there may be abuse in this action that may lead to a more serious problem that will not just affect
the society but the world as well. Although some scientists are working hard on cloning humans in GWEN MONDANO
order to cure diseases and help infertile couples, it is clear that the topic of human cloning has a lot of
controversies medically and ethically, morally and of course legally.
 REFERENCES
https://www.britannica.com/science/cloning/Ethical-
controversy
https://www.britannica.com/science/cloning/Ethical-
controversy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5109382/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_cloni
ng#Role_of_cloning_in_society
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/clon
ing
https://medlineplus.gov/cloning.html#:~:text=There%20a
re%20three%20different%20types,which%20creates%20embry
onic%20stem%20cells
THANK YOU!