Introduction
Equality refers to a situation where all organisms are accorded similar treatment where their right to exist is respected. Therefore, human beings deserve to be treated well where their right to live fully should be the moral responsibility of each and every individual. However, the treatment that is given to a human being indicates whether one has been treated equally or not. There are instances where equality has been denied to humans, an issue that has raised concerns on whether all humans are equal.
In the bio-medical research, research that is carried out has shown that human life is being exploited by the scientists in the name of achieving the common good of the people in future. This has demanded for an evaluation on the level of equality that is given to the human life, making it important to discuss on how equal all human beings are in relation to their right to live and to be protected from abuse.
In the bio-medical field, a controversy on whether to allow cloning has raised concern on the issue of equality in animals/human beings. The opponents of embryo cloning have argued that there are biological and moral boundaries that exist between the human beings and the animals. Human beings are viewed as individuals who deserve moral boundaries in their handling, whether it is during research conducted on the human subjects or in the natural environment..
Morals that govern our society dictate that human life be respected, preserved and protected from any abuse or exploitation, due to the fact that the human life is above the existence of all other creatures (animals). It is with such conviction that the acceptance of human cloning in the bio-medical field is considered a practice that defies the moral responsibility accorded to the human life. In addition, human life requires the presence of moral limits that needs to prevent the destruction of human life (which is wrong) at any level, even though it might be justified by an opinion that it is most likely to lead to a good outcome.
In this paper, human life is seen to deserve more respect and protection than any other animal with equal treatment for all human beings opposing the cloning of embryos in the bio-medical research. The human life protection is governed by the moral boundaries which ensure it is protected from abuse by the fellow human beings who may be in pursuit of their own and selfish interests.
Discussion
As a morally upright society we have the moral responsibility to reject any action or practice that undermines the value of human existence. The respect for human life is a our great motivation to oppose human cloning for bio-medical research, by realizing that the moral objections that we hold towards the research as well as the prudential consideration about where the research will lead us are justified. One major reason that clearly shows that human life comes above that of any other organism is all human beings’ great responsibility to the human embryo.
Protecting the human embryo as a fully deserving human individual is one of the greatest responsibility that has been bestowed on all the members of the human kind. In the bio-medical research, human life emerges from the embryo that is created a good indication that as humans we have a moral responsibility to respect an emerging new human life from an embryo, because that is where we all originated from. The human history has grown and continues to grow from a human embryo/zygote, which is a clear prove that the significance of an embryo (even the one created in the bio-medical research) is greater than we can imagine since it is a continuity of the human history that we all appreciate.
There is therefore no reason as to why an embryo is accorded partial human-worth or no worth at all during is early stage of development in research, so that it can later be destroyed. A human embryo is a full human being who is an equal member of the Homo sapiens species, but who is in his or her natural development process. It is unacceptable that the same human life that we recognize should be destroyed, a practice that is likely to occur if embryo cloning is allowed. The bio-medical research through human cloning denies the embryo its fully deserved respect and protection as a human infant by creating the embryo, using it but only to destroy it much later.
It is very wrong to deny human individuals their continuing history; from a zygote to a child and to a full human adult. In addition, it is very unreasonable for the biomedical research scientists to claim that they accord special respect to the human embryo, while the same individuals continue to use and destroy the same life they claim to respect. Furthermore, the argument that human embryo can be used and destroyed if it has developed within a certain time limit, does not justify one’s action in stopping an already developing human organism from reaching maturity.
A human embryo is a fully developed human person by potential and their creation outside the natural environment in research deprives it of a proper environment to develop into a human being, just like other embryos that develop in the natural environment. Cloned embryos are violated, exploited and destroyed during the biomedical research. The embryo’s deserve all human commitment to equal treatment and equal respect ,something that the biomedical research cloning of embryos fails to support.
As human beings, we are all equal in how we all were created and formed. Just like all of us, the cloned embryo share with us the same origin which makes it necessary for moral responsibility in the human society to advocate for the moral principle that human life be given equal respect. When human embryo is denied equal treatment when it is developed and at the same time destroyed as a means for the good of the others in research, it goes against the protection of human life. This makes embryo cloning in research unacceptable by moral observing human beings.
It is expected that human life be respected regardless of which stage of development it is in, which in turn requires us to shape and form our emotional responses to match the moral respect we give to those with the least developed capacities. Through the bio-medical research we are denied an opportunity to match our emotional responses to the moral respect, through the research’s unequal treatment of the human embryo (clones). This then demands of us to respect and protect life by rejecting cloning of humans in the biomedical research.
The moral well being of our human society is a clear indication that the only way to promote common life of our character and our morally upright way of life is by opposing cloning of embryos in research. Equal treatment of every human life lies on the society’s moral decision, that the formation and the development of any human life should be fully respected. Our moral wellbeing does not allow us in any way to create and destroy human life through research, since it puts to risk our human belief on the great value of human life.
It is the belief that dictates our character and our way of life, which are often transmitted to the future generations. If we are to maintain our character and way of life as a morally responsible society, we have no other choice but to oppose embryo cloning in research.
If we are to expect respect, protection and equal treatment of human life in the future generations, we have a responsibility to stop any move that supports cloning of the embryos. One way in which biomedical research would undermine the existence of human life in future is through the genetic manipulation of the embryos, and the crossing of a natural boundary that exists between asexual and sexual reproduction. Genetic manipulation will support the exploitation of the nascent human life. Our support for cloning of embryos in research may be a very huge mistake for us, because one genetic manipulation will be passed over to the other and at the end of it all, the human life will have lost its true identity.
As a society, it would be very wrong for us to support embryo cloning when we are well aware that it increases the risk of our society to transgress the moral boundaries we hold, when it becomes suitable for us to do so. Conducting biomedical research by cloning poses a great threat to our human society through change. For example, the research may make us less humble to understand the true value of human life, to extend the human respect boundaries outwards, and most importantly makes us become more willing to transgress the existing moral boundaries so as to pursue our own selfish interests.
The possibility of using the seeds of our next generations as raw material for satisfying people’s own need will definitely increase, if embryo cloning in research is to be accepted in our society. Furthermore, this move will discourage the prudence and humility advocated for in limiting the embryo research. This can be seen as the possible future complete instrumentalization of the human life, something that the biomedical research will do if actions to prevent this kind of research are not taken.
The concern that cloning of the human embryos in biomedical research will result to far greater moral hazards justifies the opposition to the research where the future demands are estimated to increase our likelihood of getting us engaged in actions and behavior that further defies the society’s moral principles. For instance, lack of a boundary within which cloning can be done may result to the establishment of embryo manufacturing industry.
The participants of such an industry will put their financial gains above the human moral principles. For instance, animal-human hybrid embryos creation in China is a clear indication of how far human beings may go to defy the biological and moral boundary between the human beings and the animal.
The possible consequences of embryo cloning research no doubt show greater dangers that outweighs any benefit from the research. In human history, when one attains power for one purpose, the power is then used for a less noble purpose. The danger of embryo cloning will only be prevented if we are ready to support the society’s moral fabric, to protect those who are being violated and to prevent dangers that tend to tempt us. The boundary within the above stated actions demands the prohibition of the production and use of research cloned embryos.
Though embryo cloning has been justified by the argument that the research may offer relief and treatment to the suffering, saving a life by employing a wrong method (which undermines the value of life) is not good where the value of life gets lost when people give more priority to how long one should live instead of how well one should live. The research will destroy the world where human life and individuals are respected, if the research oversteps the boundaries that are vital to the humanity. In order to ensure that a world that honors the moral limits is passed over to the future, praiseworthy motives that violate human wellbeing should be stopped.
Conclusion
All organisms have a right to exist without exploitation or violation which makes human beings to have a right to live and to be protected from any form of abuse which is guided by the moral principles of the global society. However, in the modern world, advances in research have been recognized as compromising the moral principles of human life, through embryo cloning in the biomedical research. Embryo cloning is morally wrong and its end does not in any way justify the means through which the embryo is exploited. It is our responsibility to ensure that the great value of human life is maintained and any threat that may undermine its existence is stopped. This makes it necessary for all of us to stand against embryo cloning in the bio-medical field.