This article is written by Bhavya Mittal of 3rd Semester of National University of Study And Research in Law
ABSTRACT
In this paper, author has tried to discuss about the legal and ethical issues involved in the human cloning and genetic manipulation. The article is further divided into three parts the first being the introduction, second one is the main body and the last part consist of the conclusion
The introductory part basically explains about the meaning of human cloning as well as genetic manipulation and a brief history of human cloning. It ends with some of the incidents related to it
The second part which is also the main body then deals with the types of cloning which is basically two types and the main part of the topic which are the legal and ethical issue involved in it . In the end we can talk about recent developments by taking some examples in it .
The last but the most important part is the conclusion of the topic which is nothing more than the summary of the topic An at last it leaves us with the most important question that whether the human cloning or genetic manipulation should be made legal.
Keywords- genetic manipulation, Human cloning, legal issues, reproductive
INTRODUCTION
Cloning means making identical copies of something. The term identical sounds great when it is attached to non-living. But the same notion would alter or have negative implications for people who start as soon as it comes to creating genetically identical but artificially contrary to the twins who under the natural situation get divided into two embryos. It’s still a fact that still now no human has been born with the method of human cloning reproductive system and legislature also bans this type of method.
There are two types of existence one is cultural and the other one is biological. When we inherit our culture, it helps us to do something which is not possible for another organism to accomplish. It also leads to evolution for the adaption of humans. For the past few years, humans are constantly adapting and evolving by adapting the environment to their genes. This natural selection process is also persisting as more humans are under suffering from diseases and genetic abnormalities. Although with the rise of health care and genetic therapy can decrease the rate of future incidents. But the ask of enhancing genetics through genetic cloning is not guaranteed as individuals cannot be cloned but genomes can be. In biology, the molecule cells of DNA having identical structure cloning has been used as a clone. In nature, we can take the example of Honey bees and use the cloning method when a queen bee mates and the eggs propagated into thousands which changes into bees[1].
Cloning technology has started to develop in recent years, especially in the countries like Iran but the legal framework required to support it is still not developed. This gap would lead to hampering the research and illegal use as there are no intellectual property rights to protect the scientist or researchers. To avoid any undesirable outcomes, it is imperative to establish an appropriate legal-ethical system and implement an approved comprehensive law. Law and ethics are fundamental concepts in this area and are governed by the 4th principle of the constitution, which states that all laws must conform to Islamic regulations. Since there are currently no specific laws related to human cloning in the country, we should refer to accredited judicial decrees or ethics. Furthermore, according to principle 177 of the constitution, it is an unchangeable principle that has remained constant after all reviews. Although the status of reproductive and therapeutic cloning is analyzable from a bioethical and jurisdictional point of view, the legal status of the matter requires sanctions and is of great importance.
The enactment of laws that criminalize various issues is a crucial step that lawmakers must take. This is particularly important in upholding the fundamental principle of the legality of crime and punishment. As per this principle, no act can be deemed a crime unless it has been previously defined and identified as such by the legislator. Furthermore, no punishment can be imposed unless it has already been established and enforced by the legislator for the specific offense committed. We must adhere to this principle to ensure that our legal system is based on fairness and impartiality[2].
TYPES OF CLONING
REPRODUCTIVE CLONING -The process of reproductive cloning is now veritably generally followed to reproduce shops that humans consume, still, cloning of creatures through this process is only lower than half a century now. This fashion was used to asexually produce frogs, after which, several attempts were made to induce duplicates of mammals, but the trials failed. It’s a process through which a living being is created which has precisely analogous nuclear DNA of another living being formerly in existence similar type of cloning is done by the process of transferring the physical cell. Transfer of the genes from the nexus of the cell of the patron to the cell of the egg is now possible because of this process. In simpler terms, this process principally excerpts the nexus from the cell of an egg which results in the separation of inheritable material which formerly exists in the egg. After this, the inheritable material of the patron cell is fitted in that egg. Once the cell division begins after the stimulation, the embryo is placed inside a lady’s uterus.
THERAPEUTIC CLONING -The main idea of this type of cloning is to produce a cloned embryo by the process of physical cell nuclear transfer. This embryo is also further used for remedial purposes in which embryonic stem cells are deduced without generating pregnancy. The eventuality of a similar kind of cloning has come one of the most important issues of discussion in the transnational medical field. It has gained so important significance because cells, napkins, or organs can be produced through this process to treat physical injuries or different types of conditions without facing any issues regarding inheritable compatibility. still, its eventuality is unclear to the experts, hence, so important debate and reflections are passing to avoid any kind of major disaster[3]
LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED
The topic of human cloning has been debated on an international level for a considerable amount of time. To address the moral problems that arise during research in human cloning, strict laws and regulations have been put in place. The Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights prohibited cloning for both reproductive and research purposes in 1997. However, some countries did not comply with the protocol ratified by the Commission of the European Convention in Paris in 1998. Surprisingly, countries that are less developed in terms of medical science are now leading in embryonic stem cell research and cloning technologies. Although there is a worldwide ban on the cloning of humans, it is allowed if done in in-vitro conditions in a laboratory and only on animals. The UK’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, 1990, and Human Reproductive Cloning Act, 2001 prohibit the reproduction of human beings through the process of cloning. However, the 2001 amendment of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, of 1990 permits therapeutic cloning for research purposes. The US cloning policy is a bit of a hodgepodge as there is no federal law in place that explicitly prohibits the cloning of human beings. Currently, federal laws only address issues that indirectly relate to cloning such as its funding. Although there is a consensus among every country on banning human reproductive cloning, there is a lack of agreement among different countries regarding policy approaches toward such new technologies, making it difficult to form a stable international regulatory framework. Although the Indian Council of Medical Research has declared cloning to produce identical human beings prohibited, there is no ban on “therapeutic cloning.” There is a potential for undue advantage that can be taken by some scientists as they can create embryos to obtain stem cells. This could further be used for different purposes such as degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc. However, the issue of the moral status of the embryo arises when therapeutic cloning is practiced.
ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED
Conceiving a child for a couple who cannot have a biologically related child to be one of the main goals of human cloning.28 One important advantage of human cloningis that it helps stop diseases that run in the genes and are inherited from themfrom generation to generation.Another important aspect that many people overlook when considering the benefits of human cloning is that it enables reproduction in the first place.individual and secondly allows those skilled in the art to produce organs that are geneticidentical and suitable for all types of transmission. People who support the idea of cloning emphasize freedom of privacy. In the year case Eisenstadt v. Baird, 31st the United States Supreme Court judged this “as a right to privacy whatever that means, a person, married or single, has a right to be free from undesirable government intervention in matters affecting a person such as a decision to give birth or give birth a child”.Another important argument in favor of human cloning is that a child will be born through this method, and people could internalize the basic needs of the modern world, such as good for the health of their child. Human cloning also enables a homosexual couple to produce a child who is biologically related to them, it also allows talented people to copyand genius. After looking at the advantages of human cloning, the most important thing is to becan replace a relative who is on his deathbed due to some genetic diseasetook it from his ancestors.After discussing the many advantages of human cloning, it is time to look at the disadvantages or the ethical issues inherent in human cloning. One of the biggest problems is this individuality When human cloning takes place, it takes away the uniqueness of the person. It is quite similar to the situation where an identical copy is made of a very valuable pieceart loses its value. One thing to remember is that cloning is a process that cannot be reversed. If a person is created by cloning and the results are independent to expectations, it then cannot be destroyed. Cloning is said to be an invasion of privacy which has many unpredictable consequences. Human cloning also involves many physical and physiological risks. Took about 277 trying to produce a puppet sheep. Testing on humans may result in a larger numberof deaths or fatal birth defects compared to successful births. Another concern isthat it is impossible to determine the mental health effects of cloning with current technology development and the aging process of the child is produced. mental health of children born to Such a process is often overlooked. It is very likely that the child will feel less wellIndependence. The child may think that he is different from others or that he is an exact copy of them someone else This would affect the mental health of the child. We see that human cloning has as many advantages as disadvantages. There is an urgent need for uniform rules and regulations to be followed worldwide.Such rules and regulations should be developed only after the concept of human cloning has been studied no details and no stone left unturned.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Despite various claims made by people about human cloning being successful, there is still no scientific proof that anyone has cloned human embryos. For instance, in 1998, scientists in South Korea claimed to have cloned a human embryo, but the experiment was stopped early when the clone was just a group of four cells. Similarly, in 2002, Clonaid asserted that they have successfully cloned a human and named her Eve. However, they never provided any evidence to support their claims. In 2004, Woo-Suk Hwang of Seoul National University in South Korea claimed to have created a cloned human embryo, but the scientific committee later found no proof to support the claim.
Human and primate cloning is more challenging than cloning in other mammals because of spindle proteins that are located close to chromosomes in primate eggs. This makes the removal of the egg’s nucleus for the donor nucleus more complicated. Moreover, some dyes and ultraviolet light used to remove the egg’s nucleus can harm the primate cell and prevent it from growing.[4]
CONCLUSION
The author of this paper has explored legal and ethical issues surrounding the concept of human cloning. It is clear that there is a ban on cloning human beings. However, regulating research in this field is difficult due to the multiple studies that can be conducted on a single cell. It is important to note that human cloning does not necessarily mean identical reproduction. Some genes in an egg cell can cure diseases with a risk of rejection. Nevertheless, there will always be those who act unethically for personal gain. With the rapid pace of technological advancement, humans will continue to explore the possibility of cloning. To prevent abuse of the technology, reproductive cloning should be banned until the global community, including scientists, ethicists, and theologians, thoroughly and satisfactorily address the morality of human cloning.
[1] Cloning: A Review on Bioethics, Legal, Jurisprudence and Regenerative Issues in Iran, PubMed Central, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5109382/,last Seen on 30/8/2023
[2] Cloning humans? Biological, ethical, and social considerations , PNAS, available at https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1501798112, last seen on 30/8/2023
[3] HUMAN CLONING: ETHICAL ISSUES & LEGAL IMPLICATIONS,IJLLR, available at https://www.ijllr.com/post/human-cloning-ethical-issues-legal-implications last seen on 30/8/2023
[4]Cloning Fact Sheet , National Human Genome Research Institute, available at https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Cloning-FactSheet#:~:text=There%20currently%20is%20no%20solid,a%20group%20of%20four%20cells last seen on 30/8/2023
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