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Analyzing the Issues of Biotechnology: Cloning, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555817480/9781555814724_Chap36-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555817480/9781555814724_Chap36-2.gifAbstract:
Biotechnology began generating public discussion and debate about issues raised by its possible applications at the earliest stages of research, 10 years before any products had been developed. The debate about the potential societal impacts of modern biotechnology has continued unabated throughout its development. This chapter provides an approach and process for analyzing biotechnology-related issues so that one can contribute constructively to the public discourse on biotechnology and make informed decisions that are in ones best interest. The chapter states some critical steps in objectively evaluating societal issues associated with applications of biotechnology. It discusses the formal risk assessment process in detail. Finally, in discussing the risks of any technology, one has to keep in mind that technologies may be used wisely or unwisely, for good or for bad. The issue of animal cloning presents an opportunity to use the strategy to analyze an emotionally charged societal issue raised by a scientific breakthrough related to biotechnology development. The discussion is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment of the issues involved with animal cloning but is included to give one an example of some of the requisite steps in a rational treatment of the issue. If one is interested in extending this discussion to the question of cloning humans, it is essential to make a clear distinction between cloning cells taken from an embryo that is only a few days old and cloning to make babies (reproductive cloning).