Pet Cloning

This weeks topic is very interesting to me because I worked for a year in an emergency vet clinic. I saw a lot of pets die and a lot of families lose a very important part of their lives. I remember a while back, there was the woman who cloned her dog and it was huge news and all I could think was, "If they cloned you lady, would it still be you?" You have personality and likes and dislikes. Just because something looks the same as you because of genes, does not mean you will be the same exact person or animal. I love my dog Foxy Cleopatra, don't get me wrong. But I would never clone her when she dies. She is unique and has so many special qualities that are not replaceable. In my personal opinion, when your pet dies it is a fact of life. Everything at some point will die. Although we love our pets, most of us even consider them a family member, they are meant to die. Just as we are. We were not made to live forever. For someone to clone their pet is them just holding on to the pet that passed. You have to grieve and move on. By creating a look-alike of your pet, you are not grieving properly. I just want to enjoy Foxy and the time I have with her. I do not want another Foxy when she is gone. I want to hold on to the great memories I will have of her and then create some new ones with the next pet I get. No other animal could ever replace her, even if they looked exactly like her and was made from her cells. And personally, I wouldn't want them to replace her.

Genetics problems

I need help with 8, 11 and 14. On number 8, I can't figure out the sex of the kittens. On 11, I am completely stuck and don't know where to begin. The same on number 14. Please help me if you can.

Week 9-Genetic Disclosure

I do not think that giving genetic information to insurance companies would be a good idea. While we do get exams to get the insurance, genetics is private. Giving that information to the insurance companies would give them a lot more power. They would definitely deny the insurance or make it extremely expensive if you had some type of genetic disorder. We need to know about these disorders and try to control them or treat them, but it is not for the insurance companies to decide who should get insurance based on their genes.

Week 8- Embryo Testing

This is also a tough subject for me, like others have said it is for them. I believe that life begins at conception so I would have a very hard time deciding whether or not to destroy an embryo even if i knew it might have a disease. I think that the testing to find out if the diseases are there is okay, because it can only prepare you for what may come if you decide to go on with the pregnancy. I would not destroy the embryo even if it had a disease because it is not fair of us to play with what God gives us. A baby is a baby, with or without illness. I would destroy the baby would be if it were going to die upon birth or would risk death to the mother.
Technology on eye color is a whole other story. I do not agree with testing in order to select different physical attributes in a child. Why wouldn't you like your child if it had brown eyes, not blue? Does that really make a parent love a child?