Couple wants clone child

Hello everyone!

I was taking my daily look at CNN.com to see what kind of aweful events have occured in the world today when I saw this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/08/13...nna/index.html

Turns out that this couple would like to clone themselves as their children. Confused? I sure am! Now, I'm not one to say whether this is right or wrong, and that isn't what this post is about, but what do you do when your child is in their teenage years and they look exactly like you (assuming that there are no major defects that occur with this procedure, which there will almost undoubtably will be)?

Personally, I think this couple is just looking for attention, as they could easily use a sperm donor and a invitro fertilization of another parent just as easily, but for some reason they wish to clone themselves...maybe this is some narcisitic excuse to try and create a better them. The thing that bothered me the most about this entire article is when they are asked why they didn't just want to adopt a child from another country, and the wife says that they are already abused and that they come with baggage. What kind of a human being that hopes to be a parent says that about a child? Is it just me or are they treating their child as if it was a car they were hoping to purchase?

In my opinion, these people aren't fit to be parents because if they will go so far as to want a cloned baby, it is easy to see them being the type of parents that force certain activities down their children's throats. Ugh, it sickens me...

Regards,
Wizeman

My parents always told me that when I had kids, I would then be "paying for my own raising". This takes that old saying to a totally different level.

Thinking in a slightly different direction here....I remember the hell I put my parents through growing up. If I had to raise an exact copy of myself I would probably kill him. :) Would that be murder or suicide (since I would essentially be 'killing myself')?

I have to agree with you Al, the last thing this world needs is another me.

There was a movie with Arnold S. featuring cloning (I forgot the name of the movie), and this guy was cloning himself. And when his clone fell on top of him, Arnold said to the man, "When I told you to screw yourself, I didn't think you would take it literally."

Something I just picked up from rereading the article is that they some how have twisted the fact that they are totally unable to conceive a child through any method into a sign from God that they should clone themselves. One has to ask, what kind of mental state are these people in?

I will take a bet that if this child develops normally in a physiological manner, that she will be neglected by her parents when her "novelty" runs out and will end up pulling a Columbine, or a similar indicident. Either that, or her parents will be insensitive enough to leave her in a car in 90 degree weather while they "run in" to a store. Man, people take having children so laxidasically these days that it is disgusting, how can you just treat a child with such disrespect and still call yourself a parent? Grr... :mad:

she said she didnt want to adopt because of "baggage"....yeah like their cloned children are going to live a normal life

and would the parents be attracted to their kids as they grew up? :o=

I can sort-of see why they would want to clone a baby. . .I mean, I don't have kids yet, but when and if I do, I really would prefer them to be made by myself and the woman I'm with. They sound like they were pretty serious about having children, at one point in the article the guy made reference to her taking some medications that could've killed cancer, that sounds serious to me. . .I'd be more worried about the pysiological implications involved, that the doc is shrugging off, I've read some of the stuff on Dolly, and what I read was saying that it's aging prematurely in all respects.

I think the worst thing about a possible situation like this is where the parents expect the children to be just like they think they remember themselves as, and major dysfunction will set in. Even if the parents KNOW that genes aren't everything, there's a subconscious bias towads: "Don't Do X! Why, when *I* was your age..."

Like it or not, this will be happening often in the future. In fact, I think it has already happened somewhere, it's just on the D-L. I recently saw you can clone your pet RIGHT NOW for less than $20Gs..... and you know people are already spending this chunk of cash to get liver transplants, etc. for their pet.... cloning it isn't too far a stretch from that I guess.

If human cloning doesn't happen in the US, it will happen elsewhere. We just have to be prepared to deal with it 'cause it's here!

I was watching a special abou this on TV the other night. These poor people have tried everything under the sun to have their own children. Artificial insemination just would not hold in this lady. She got artificially inseminated and layed absolutely motionless in bed for 2 weeks trying to get one of the 4 eggs they inserted to attach to the uterian wall. While I can understand the apprehension to adopt, I don't think cloning is right. When you adopt a child, you bring on a whole slew of problems when that child grows up. That's not to say that being the only cloned human in the world won't bring it's own problems. I guess I'm kinda torn about this. Cloning is too unnatural. But if you think about it, when artificial insemination started, how many people were throwing the bible up in the air saying it's unnatural and trying to ban it from ever happening. Artificial insemination proved itself as very helpful. Maybe cloning will too. We just have to get past the initial fear that we always have of change. My $0.02.

Troy11277:

I think you sort of missed my point. As I stated in my first post, I don't mean for this to be a discussion of right and wrong for the procedure of cloning. My main point was that I believe these people are totally unfit to be parents. They are so superficial as to reject the option of adopting a child because of emotional baggage that they may come with. Now, in order to have this cloned child, they have to use another woman to have the baby, so why not just use donated sperm ? Because they want a clone, they want to be special and this child (assuming he/she isn't going ot be 60 years old by the time he/she is 5) will be treated like a clone from the minute it ones its eyes. I don't believe for one minute that this couple won't suck up all sorts of publicity and book deals.

The point I'm making is that people like this make me sick. And the focus seems to be on their misfortune, rather than the scarring and ill treatment that we all know the child is going to receive.

You know there is something wrong when the parents say that because God hasn't let them have a child yet, it means God wants them to have a clone.

Regards,
Wizeman

I disagree with you Wizeman. . .them wanting a clone might just mean that they want a product of themselves and not someone else's. I don't see anything wrong with that. . . I don't really agree w/ the cloning aspect of it though. About the whole god thing, dunno why this is always put in everything, but that's up to everyone's own interpretation, if they think that that's what god means by them not being able to conceive their own child, then that's their own right. I just don't think the fact of them not wanting to adopt would necessarily make them unfit parents, they might turn out to be the best parents in the world.

God is the biggest creater ,then
Why ? he has not made us all same ,there will be some reason.
If you have no child , then you need a doctor help,
you can adopt a child , which already is in this world without parents.

I realize them wanting to have children of their own. Socially, the world is not ready for children who are clones of their parents (all cloning issues of whether it's right or wrong aside). We're still hung up on color, ethnicity, etc. Why add a clone to that list of something people can hate you for? And especially the very first, considered a freak of nature, ridiculed.
I'm sorry, but these people are certainly unfit to be parents, while they have ultimately good intentions, they are thinking selfishly in the pursuit of their own happiness without thinking of what it's going to be like for the child when it grows up to know these things.

Another thing that disturbs me about their statements, is if there is a defect in the cloning process and how they're planning already to abort if that were to happen, and harvest the stem cells for research. Noble, maybe? But you know what that screams out to me? If this child isn't perfect, they're going to terminate it.

I don't know what kind of bubble these people live in, where they aren't concerned about how socially their child is going to be treated or if it's created with imperfections you can just throw it away before even giving it a chance, but damn.

I honestly think an adopted child with their 'baggage' would have a better chance to fair well having them as parents than any clone of them would. I mean, most children up for adoption are used to neglect and no one really caring about them, so it wouldn't be much different with parents who are caught up with perfection, having a part of them, and not thinking of the child ultimately....

*shakes her head, mumbles, and walks off*

THe name of the cloning movie with Arnold is "The 6th Day" It is one of my favorite ones he does... IF you seen the movie you recall they banded cloning because of the issues with its technology. I think there are greater issues with the social implications. Did anyone see the movie AI these wheren't clones in the movie but robots, and there was such a social outcry. Do you think there will be a similar outcry with clones...?

But I remember Mom telling me: When you grow up I hope you have a kid just like you...!! I guess I can do that now...but was she saying that was a good thing or a bad thing....hmmmm!!

The world is over populated as it is and besides didn't those sheep that were cloned all die due to the clones ageing quicker?

Sounds to me like they are trying to make up for all the things in life they did wrong or didn't get a chance to do. I don't see how trying to remake yourselves makes a good parent either. As a parent I learned you have to let kids be themselves and make their own mistakes. That is part of being a good parent. It is difficult but it is part of life.

Depending on the real reason for cloning, they could be making the worst mistake as parents, forcing their will upon the child/ren because they are minatures of themselves.

When there are thousands of children in many countries that are waiting to be adopted, it would seem to me that their choice to clone is not a choice made from having thought this through completely.

My sister is from Romania, she was adopted 11 years ago and she sure beats having my mother or father as my sibling!

Indeed! I think its better to give a child who has had it hard a better chance at life rather than haveing some kid created in a test tube.

I think that these people,need serious councilling.I personally think that if God wanted them to have perfect ,faultless children he would have provided for that.I mean are they so perfect!!!!!! themselves. I doubt it .If everybody was to be cloning everybody else this world of ours would be a very sick place to live in.God has a purpose to everything.They are not any different.
I personally think there is always a very good reason why God let things happen .

regards
v/man.