新視野大學英語讀寫教程第三冊unit8-b Who Will Take Advantage of Human Cloning

Section(B)

Who Will Take Advantage of Human Cloning?

Last week's news that scientists had cloned a sheep sent academics and the public into a panic at the prospect that humans might be next. That's an understandable reaction. Cloning is a radical challenge to the most fundamental laws of biology, so it's reasonable to be concerned that it might be a preface to activities that will threaten human society and dignity.

Yet much of the moral opposition seems also to grow out of an automatic, unthinking disgust. This refusal to consider the issue logically makes it hard for even trained scientists and other experts to see the matter clearly. While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a convincing case that it would do any real harm, either.

Conservative spiritual leaders have claimed that cloning a human constitutes a gross attack on human dignity. That would surely be true if a cloned individual were treated as a lesser being, with fewer rights or lower status. But why suppose that the laws that protect our rights and dignity would not be applicable to cloned persons? A leading lawyer has suggested that cloning would violate the "right to a unique genetic identity".

Where did he come up with such a right? It makes perfect sense to say that adult persons have a right not to be cloned without their voluntary, informed consent. But if such consent were given, whose "right" to genetic identity would be violated? Many of the vivid warnings of science-fiction concerning the prospect of human cloning turn out,
upon reflection, to be wildly improbable.

There's the fear, for instance, that parents might clone a child for the sake of having "surplus parts" in case the original child needs an organ transplant. But parents
of identical twins don't view one child as an organ farm for the other. Why should cloned children's parents be any different?

Another disturbing thought is that cloning will lead to efforts to breed individuals with genetic qualities perceived as desirable (math geniuses, soccer players, etc.). Such ideas are offensive, not only because of an unthinking disgust, but also because of the horrors carried out by the Nazis in the name of improving their race. But there's a vast difference between the breeding programs as practiced by some groups (where the urge to breed certain types of people leads to efforts to destroy other types) and the much more harmless forms already practiced in democratic societies (where, say, lawyers freely choose to have sexual relations with other lawyers).

Banks stocked with the frozen sperm of geniuses already exist, but they haven't created a master race because few women are queuing up to get pregnant this way. Why should we think it would be different if human cloning becomes available? So who will likely take advantage of cloning? Perhaps a couple whose child is dying. This might seem psychologically suspect.

But a cloned child born to such suspect parents stands no greater or lesser chance of being loved, or rejected, than a child created the normal way. Infertile couples are also likely to seek out cloning. That such couples have other options (artificially bringing egg and sperm together, or adopting a child) is not an argument for denying them the right to clone. Or consider an example raised by Judge Richard Posner: a couple in which the husband has some unfortunate genetic defect.

Currently, if this couple wants a genetically related child, they have four not altogether pleasant options. They can reproduce naturally and resign themselves to the risk of passing on the disease to the child. They can go to a sperm bank and take a chance on unknown genes. They can bring egg and sperm together artificially and dispose of any affected baby before placing it in the mother, or before birth — though that might be objectionable, too.

Or they can get a male relative of the father to be a sperm donor, if such a relative exists. This is one case where even people bothered by creating a child under the lens of a microscope might see cloning as not the worst option. Even if human cloning offers no obvious benefits to mankind, why ban it? In a democracy we don't usually pass laws against something before there is actual or probable evidence of harm.

Before we go any further, it might make sense to require a temporary pause on research into human cloning in order to make a systematic enquiry into the grave questions it raises. When research into cloning is resumed, human cloning should remain a research activity for an extended period. And if it is ever attempted, it should — and no doubt will — take place only under careful examination and layers of legal administration.

Most important, human cloning should be governed by the same laws that now protect human rights. A world not safe for cloned humans would be a world not safe for the rest of us.

Words: 824

New Words

　panic n. 恐慌，驚慌 v. （使）驚慌
　preface n. 1.開端，前奏，序幕 2.序言，前言，引言
　refusal n. 拒絕
　conservative a. 保守的，守舊的，傳統(tǒng)的 n. 保守的人，保守派
　spiritual a. 1.宗教上的 2.心靈的，精神上的
　constitute vt. 1.是，構(gòu)成 2.組成，構(gòu)成
　gross a. 1.明顯錯誤的 2.總的，總共的
　applicable a. 適用的，合適的，適當?shù)?br /> 　voluntary a. 自愿的，志愿的
　consent n. 同意，準許 vi. 同意，準許
　vivid a. 鮮艷的，鮮明的，生動的，逼真的
　reflection n. 1.考慮，深思 2.反射，反照；倒影 3.反映，表達
　probable a. 很有可能的，大概的
◆improbable a. 不大可能的，未必確實的
　sake n. 緣由，理由
　surplus a. 過剩的，多余的 n. 過剩；剩余額
　soccer n. 英式足球
　horror n. 1.令人恐懼的事物，恐怖 2.恐懼，震驚
　democratic a. 民主的，有民主精神的
　sexual a. 性的，兩性的
■sperm n. 精子
　queue vi. 排隊 n. (排隊等候的)一隊人或車等
◆infertile a. 不育的；不結(jié)果實的
　artificial a. 1.人造的，人工的 2.假的，矯揉造作的
　defect n. 缺陷，缺點
　reproduce v. 1.（指人類、動物等）繁殖，生殖 2.復制，再現(xiàn)
　resign v. 1.順從，聽從 2.辭職，引退
　dispose v. 1.擺脫，處理，扔掉 2.安排，布置
　lens n. 透鏡，（凹、凸）鏡片
　microscope n. 顯微鏡
　democracy n. 1.民主國家 2.民主；民主政體
　temporary a. 短暫的，暫時的，臨時的
　systematic a. 有系統(tǒng)的，有計劃的，有方法的
　resume v. 再繼續(xù)，恢復
　layer n. 層
　administration n. 1.管理，經(jīng)營，支配 2.行政部門，行政機關(guān) 3.政府
　govern v. 1.影響，支配，規(guī)定 2.統(tǒng)治，治理，管理

Phrases and Expressions

　send into 使處于（某種狀態(tài)），使變得
　at the prospect of/that… 當意識到……可能時
　grow out of 由... ...而生，起因于
　make sense 有道理，合乎情理；明智
　turn out (to be) 證實是，原來是
　on/upon reflection 再考慮后
　for the sake of sth./doing sth. 為了得到或擁有
　view as 視為，看作
　perceive as 視為，當作
　carry out 進行，實施
　in the name of 借... ...之名；為... ...目的
　queue up 排長隊
　stock with 使藏有，使備有
　stand a chance of 有可能（取得）
　seek out 尋找并發(fā)現(xiàn)
　resign oneself to sth. 只得接受
　pass on 傳遞，傳給
　take a chance on 冒險
　dispose of 擺脫，處理，扔掉
　make an enquiry into 調(diào)查；打聽

Proper Names

　Nazi （德國）國社黨黨員，納粹分子
　Richard Posner 理查德·波斯納