Until I became a mother some eighteen years ago I could never have imagined the intense love and connection that exists between a parent and a child. Likewise, having never lost a child I certainly have no real concept of the pain and devastation that must surely be felt by parents whose child succumbs, whether to an accident, drugs or some other unforeseen event.
Without firsthand knowledge of that kind of pain I cannot be certain, although my “gut level” response to the debate question, “Would you close your child?” is, “No, I would not.”
Why? First, I believe that we must consider the uncertainties of cloning from a scientific perspective. In 1996, scientists successfully created Dolly, a sheep cloned using the DNA of a full grown sheep. But when Dolly developed arthritis prematurely and eventually had to be euthanized due to a progressive lung disease there was speculation about a possible connection between cloning and premature aging.
Despite the passage of nearly fifteen years since the Dolly experiment, cloning success rates remain low. Sheep, cattle, pigs, goats and mice have all been cloned but with rather limited success as compared to the number of attempts. Plus, among the cloning success stories there have been sever early or unexplained deaths which may or may not be attributable to the cloning process itself. So, given the limited success rate, uncertain outcomes and unforeseen dangers plans to move toward cloning human children at this stage seems highly irresponsible.
Second, it is important to understand what a clone really is. A clone cannot serve as a replacement for another human being. Even if human cloning were possible, ethical and completely safe, it would not be possible to resurrect a deceased child through the creation of a clone. I’ve known identical twins that looked exactly alike but were very different in terms of personality, temperament, talents and interests. A human clone would basically be an artificially created identical twin. The clone might look like the deceased child but he would still be an entirely different person. I was recently involved in a fairly serious automobile accident. Another drive ran a stoplight and my car was a total loss. The insurance settlement allowed me to purchase a pre-owned car that was the same year, make, and model and with all of the same options as my old car. But even though the replacement car looks the same it still doesn’t feel exactly the same as my old car.
Similarly, I believe that any parent who thinks that cloning represents a way to get their dead child” back” is very likely to be sorely disappointed.
I believe that such a situation would be unhealthy for both the parent and the cloned child. Any parent considering a drastic measure like cloning is probably not dealing with their grief following the loss of their child in a healthy way. Though painful, grief and loss often help us to grow or to learn some needed lesson in life. Attempting to skirt this mourning processing by engineering a replacement would seem to take away from our humanity. The potential for psychological damage to the cloned child is very great. Eventually she is sure to realize that she is not necessarily loved for herself but as merely a substitute for the child that was loss. Even worse would be cases in which the parent reacts with anger or disappointment toward the cloned child when her personality, habits and interests are not the same as the child that was lost.
Finally, I think one of the most important lessons I have learned as a parent is that parenthood and selfishness do not mix. Being an effective parent is never really about what is best for the parent. Although there were times when my young son brought a smile to my face, made me laugh with his precocious antics, comforted me when I was sad or caused my chest to swell with pride over his early accomplishments those things were really just side benefits. They weren’t the purpose for which he was born.
Every child is special and unique in his own right. Parenting is about offering the love, care and guidance that will allow these precious individuals to fulfill their destinies. Rather than attempting to clone a deceased child in an effort to fill a hole in their own broken hearts, perhaps grieving parents would be better served by pouring their energy into loving or mentoring another struggling young person, working for a charity or strengthening their own faith or that of others. No matter how much the parent might be hurting, I just don’t think that cloning a child is the answer.
References:
Knight, Will. Dolly the Sheep Dies Young,” New Scientist, February 14, 2003. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3393-dolly-the-sheep-dies-young.html
“Pros and Cons of Human Cloning: National Academies Report Debates Pros and Cons of Human Reproductive Cloning.” http://www.yenra.com/pros-and-cons-of-human-cloning/
