Cloning is a term that describes a number of different processes that can result in exact genetic copies of plants and animals, referred to as clones. There are three types of artificial cloning, gene cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. Reproductive cloning, the type that produces copies of whole animals, is what is most commonly thought of when people think of cloning a human. (1)
The different types of cloning are perceived differently by people. The wider population tend to accept the use gene cloning, where genes are created from DNA, (2) however the use of therapeutic and reproductive cloning isn’t as widely accepted. This is because therapeutic cloning requires the destruction of human embryos, embryos that some would argue are living, therefore destroying the embryos may be seen as taking a potential life, even if the cells are used to improve the health of unhealthy people or aiding the recovery of an injured person. Reproductive cloning
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Embryonic stem cell research is also permitted however there is a large number of people who don’t agree with this. Some people argue that the stem cell lines, which all carry the same genes, should not be experimented on in the laboratory as one of the sources of them is from embryos not used from fertility treatment. They would argue that these embryos have the potential to become living people and therefore they should be seen as living themselves. Many would then argue that experimenting on these cells and not allowing them to be used to create life is acceptable. People may argue that the embryos should be donated to couples who are not able to have their own children. This is further emphasised as embryos should not have to be used if there are cell lines that already exist and that could be