Guiding Questions

To what extent is it acceptable to clone animals or humans?

Identical twins natural clones.

What exactly is different about making a cloned sheep?

Extra Activity 4 - Debate the issues - an ethical thinking activity

How do you work out your personal views about cloning? What type of ethical decision making do you use?
Answer the 'personality quiz' questions Cloning ethics - quiz to find out.

Choose one of the roles from the list below.

Prepare your role for the Hot seat challenge..... what answers will you give to the questions?

Roles of people in the class: (allocated secretly)

• Character 1: Has a medical condition that therapeutic cloning might someday benefit. Is stongly in favour the potential benefits of research over the risks of such research. Does not agree with arguments that cloning human cells is unnatural.
• Character 2: is a close friend or family member of character 1. This character sees the importance of research benefits but also cares strongly for animals and doesn't like seeing animals used in experiments.
• Character 3: Is a business leader. This person has also worked as a research scientist in a lab experimenting with therapeutic cloning. They currently run a company selling medical materials to hospitals.
• Character 4: Is a leader in a local religious group. They are guided by teachings in the scripture, and dislikes procedures which are unnatural.
• Character 5: Is the minister of health. This person is in charge of hospital budgets and needs to be re-elected every five years.  There are many pressures on the public purse and this person needs persuading of the value of any new treatment.
• Character 6: Is a charity worker. A strong believer in the the goodness in all people. Everything this person supports is

Question for the Hot seat:

(students take turns to answer the questions in role – then the class guess which role they have been playing)

1. Dog owners are to be given the chance to clone their pet. Should this be allowed?

2. Scientists have grown stem cells from adult bodies using cloning techniques. Is this a good idea? Why?

3. Does cloning to create stem cells, therapeutic cloning, justify destroying a human embryo? Why, or why not?

4. Should cloning research be regulated? How, and by whom?

5. Who has the right to have children, however they are created? Who doesn't?

6. Is human cloning "playing with nature?" more or less than other reproductive technologies like in-vitro fertilization?

7. If a clone originates from a single existing person, and an enucleated egg who are the parents?

8. What are some of the social challenges a cloned child might face?

Brief review of arguments for and against cloning

(click the eye icon to show the arguments)

• Arguments against cloning

  
  Cloning would reduce the value of the individual child.
  Cloned individuals are likely to have developmental disorders / health problems.
  Cloning is an expensive process and the money could be better spent on other types of healthcare.
  Cloning may be done for the wrong reasons eg. to replace a lost loved one.
  
  Arguments for cloning
  
  Identical twins are formed by cloning so it is a natural process.
  Cloning could increase the chances for infertile couples to have children.
  Cloning can produce many identical animals for use in medical research.
  Cloning techniques may help other research such as finding gene functions, using 'knock out' genes.

It might be useful to make a clear separation between questions about reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning.
Therapeutic cloning is the creation of an embryo to supply embryonic stem cells for medical use.

These are simple notes have been made into cards  Role cards for the hot seat questions to help organisation of the Hot seat challenge or a debate format.