The Risks of Cloning
Recent scientific breakthroughs on the cloning of cells, both human and others, have sparked
many debates regarding the moral repercussions that might arise as result of careless and
unsupervised cloning.
In a letter to the editor published in ‘The Age’ on April the 22nd 2015, Mr Bruce Banner argued
that the cloning of animals and possibly humans as well is a ‘dangerous and frightening’ threat
that should not be allowed to continue and be studied any further. With a contrasting view to
Mr Banner, Mr Phil Coulson, in his letter to the editor also published in ‘The Age’ on 22nd of April
2015 contended that although cloning might have some moral conflicts, instead of staying away
from this new branch of science, it should be approached with a sense of caution and
apprehension.
Mr Banner, in his cynical letter to the editor regarding his views on cloning and whether or not
it should be explored, uses his readers’ sense of security to persuade them that allowing the
scientific research into cloning to continue will only lead to the endangerment of all of
humanity. Banner uses a pejorative simile, ‘like little kids with a chemistry set’ to compare the
scientists who want to further their research on cloning and test its boundaries to little kids.
This comparison suggests that, like excited young children, they too are too eager to toy with
cloning without realising what damage they can and are causing. The inference that these
scientists are endangering everyone without even realising or intending to imply that the issue
of cloning is one that is so dangerous, that even when intending to do good, it will eventually
end up causing more harm than good thus positioning the readers to agree with Banner that
cloning it too dangerous to even be studied and should be avoided in order to keep everyone
protected and safe.
Cooper centers his letter on a series of imaginary scenarios that could occur if cloning were to
become a practice.
many debates regarding the moral repercussions that might arise as result of careless and
unsupervised cloning.
In a letter to the editor published in ‘The Age’ on April the 22nd 2015, Mr Bruce Banner argued
that the cloning of animals and possibly humans as well is a ‘dangerous and frightening’ threat
that should not be allowed to continue and be studied any further. With a contrasting view to
Mr Banner, Mr Phil Coulson, in his letter to the editor also published in ‘The Age’ on 22nd of April
2015 contended that although cloning might have some moral conflicts, instead of staying away
from this new branch of science, it should be approached with a sense of caution and
apprehension.
Mr Banner, in his cynical letter to the editor regarding his views on cloning and whether or not
it should be explored, uses his readers’ sense of security to persuade them that allowing the
scientific research into cloning to continue will only lead to the endangerment of all of
humanity. Banner uses a pejorative simile, ‘like little kids with a chemistry set’ to compare the
scientists who want to further their research on cloning and test its boundaries to little kids.
This comparison suggests that, like excited young children, they too are too eager to toy with
cloning without realising what damage they can and are causing. The inference that these
scientists are endangering everyone without even realising or intending to imply that the issue
of cloning is one that is so dangerous, that even when intending to do good, it will eventually
end up causing more harm than good thus positioning the readers to agree with Banner that
cloning it too dangerous to even be studied and should be avoided in order to keep everyone
protected and safe.
Cooper centers his letter on a series of imaginary scenarios that could occur if cloning were to
become a practice.