A Terrible Beauty Is Born
A Terrible Beauty Is Born
“A terrible beauty is born“, this line is taken from the excellent poem “Easter 1916” by William Butler Yeats. W.B Yeats uses these words to describe the Easter Rising which resulted in the death of fifteen republican leaders along with their comrades. These events in Irish history have brought celebration but also a great deal of sorrow which Yeats describes perfectly with this clever oxymoron – A terrible beauty.
A lot has changed since “Easter 1916” was written, yet its words have remained relevant to even the issues of today’s world. I personally believe that cloning and stem cell use are the modern days terrible beauties. Fifty years ago we did not even know what a gene was, although today barely a day passes without radio stations, television stations or newspapers discussing genetically modified food, animal clones, DNA finger printing, transgenic animals, human gene therapy and not to mention the ever-going debate to legalise the medical research of stem cells.
With the announcement that a research facility in England had successfully cloned a sheep, many groups worldwide such as doctors, politicians, religious members etc. Have been battling with the question – Should the research of cloning be taken further? Many doctors believe that cloning is an advancement to help save more lives although specific organs or blood types have yet to be cloned and actually made available to the general medical community. Think about it. If someone desperately needed a liver transplant, with the aid of cloning technology, doctors would be able to clone that persons liver cells and produce a healthy, genetically matched liver thus saving that person’s life. In a way cloning could revolutionise the medical industry.
While many doctors are on the up-side of cloning, many politicians play a more on-the-fence role. They can see the medical advantage but are still rather reluctant. Most politicians want something for themselves for their
“A terrible beauty is born“, this line is taken from the excellent poem “Easter 1916” by William Butler Yeats. W.B Yeats uses these words to describe the Easter Rising which resulted in the death of fifteen republican leaders along with their comrades. These events in Irish history have brought celebration but also a great deal of sorrow which Yeats describes perfectly with this clever oxymoron – A terrible beauty.
A lot has changed since “Easter 1916” was written, yet its words have remained relevant to even the issues of today’s world. I personally believe that cloning and stem cell use are the modern days terrible beauties. Fifty years ago we did not even know what a gene was, although today barely a day passes without radio stations, television stations or newspapers discussing genetically modified food, animal clones, DNA finger printing, transgenic animals, human gene therapy and not to mention the ever-going debate to legalise the medical research of stem cells.
With the announcement that a research facility in England had successfully cloned a sheep, many groups worldwide such as doctors, politicians, religious members etc. Have been battling with the question – Should the research of cloning be taken further? Many doctors believe that cloning is an advancement to help save more lives although specific organs or blood types have yet to be cloned and actually made available to the general medical community. Think about it. If someone desperately needed a liver transplant, with the aid of cloning technology, doctors would be able to clone that persons liver cells and produce a healthy, genetically matched liver thus saving that person’s life. In a way cloning could revolutionise the medical industry.
While many doctors are on the up-side of cloning, many politicians play a more on-the-fence role. They can see the medical advantage but are still rather reluctant. Most politicians want something for themselves for their