Human Cloning

            
            
             Many ethical concerns have generated since the cloning of an adult sheep (the sheep's DNA was inserted into an unfertilized sheep egg to produce a lamb with identical DNA) proved to be successful. These concerns have had little to do with the cloned sheep Dolly or even how cloning may have an impact on the animal breeding industry, but rather about the possibility of cloning humans. For the most part, the ethical concerns presented are very inaccurate and exaggerated due to the fact that most people have a lack of knowledge when it comes to genes and there capabilities. Therefore, the dangers of cloning relate more to the misunderstanding of its significance opposed to the technological side of this issue.
             Producing human beings through the process of cloning would not lead to a "carbon copy", the stereotypical description seen in a creation of science fiction. The cloned person would be more like a delayed identical twin. Thus, a clone would be a separate person from his/her coexistent twin just like identical twins are two separate people biologically, psychologically, morally, and legally, despite the fact that they are not genetically separate. If one does not agree with this point then they obviously hold the belief that genes determine everything about ones life and environmental factors have nothing to do with human development (genetic determinism). Science and geneticists in particular have long proved this belief to be false, as overwhelming consensus demonstrates.
             Extensive research in the field of genetics has proven that the environment has numerous affects on gene expression. According to this principle, simple physical traits such as height and hair color are largely determined by environmental factors. Also, the traits that humans value the most (intelligence, compassion, etc.) are affected more by the environmental factors then the genetic contributions. If one might believe otherwise, than all they need to do is to observe the development of identical twins and realize that despite their similarities, they are totally different people.