With many experiments and inventions, humans have achieved what was once considered impossible. There was the test tube baby, the glow in the dark rabbit, and now we can clone animals. However, what I want to know is, are we truly successful in our technological advancements? Perhaps in striving for possible good, we tend to overlook the pitfalls.

The birth of Dolly, the first cloned animal in the world, was not announced until seven months after her birth. This is because she was the only survivor of the cloning experiment out of 277 sheep embryos. Therefore, the experiment consisted of one lamb for the price of a couple hundred.

Death and deformities are not rare in clones and, in fact, it is fairly common for hundreds of animals to die. Recently, at California State University, three cloned calves were kept for a biotechnological company as part of an experiment to see how they would survive in a typical farm setting. Two of the three heifers died soon after birth, and the one survivor is critically ill. The director of agriculture at the college said, “it is not uncommon for cloned animals to have problems with their immune system.”

Therefore, I ask: are we playing God with animals’ lives? The human race has gone too far in our quest for technological advancement. For thousands of animals to die for our benefit is unfair. However, what worries me most is human cloning.

To understand the horrors of human cloning, I recommend the movie, The Sixth Day. Ironically, the movie is horribly lame; however, it brings forth important issues about cloning. And if that is not enough for you, perhaps I might lure you into watching it because the main actor is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The movie questions topics such as using cloned humans for organ transplants and the possibility of genetic mutations occurring in these clones. We have advanced so far, but when will we limit ourselves?

For more information, an excellent website is www.globalexchange.com/clonech.htm.