Therapeutic cloning: the medicine of the futureWhen most people hear the word clone, they don't think of something that cures serious illnesses and injuries. Instead, the first thing that comes to mind is an identical copy of a human being created in a laboratory. However, this is rarely what scientists are referring to when they use this term. What they're talking about is a very different process, known as therapeutic cloning, in which specific types of a person's cells can be cloned and incorporated into their body for medical use. This amazing method is a potential cure for even some of the most adverse diseases. Therapeutic cloning has immense potential as the regenerative medicine of the future and should in no way be banned or forgotten. The procedure of therapeutic cloning must be understood before its medical benefits can be explained. The procedure used for this purpose is known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT, and begins with an unfertilized egg cell whose nucleus (which contains the person's genetic information) is removed. The scientist then takes a somatic cell (any body cell other than sperm or egg) from the patient and extracts the nucleus, then inserts this nucleus into the egg cell. Now, this cell begins to divide into a group of cells and within the group are embryonic stem cells. An embryonic stem cell is “a relatively unspecialized cell that can reproduce indefinitely and, under appropriate conditions, differentiate into specialized cells of one or more types” (Campbell 415). These cells are then extracted by the scientist and continue to divide in a culture to create a stem cell line (Murnaghan). This stem cell line continues to produce these embryonic stem cells, which are inserted… middle of paper… that people had in the first place with therapeutic cloning. Medical progress of this magnitude should not be delayed by the political and ethical issues that continue to prevent it from reaching its full potential for human application. Issues that limit the use of ES cells for medical purposes are only preventing scientists from finding cures for the most brutal diseases and also inhibiting something that could save millions of people from further investigation. The reasons behind these ethical questions are very vague and in most cases have proven to be invalid, allowing the benefits of therapeutic cloning to far outweigh any problems people may have with it. While many laws and issues still remain, politicians like Barack Obama have moved in the right direction in recent years by gradually reducing therapeutic cloning laws (Harris).