An Argument for Limited Human Cloning - University at Buffalo.docVIP

An Argument for Limited Human Cloning The news from the sheepyards of Scotland of Dolly’s creation has reinvigorated the cloning debate. For the first time a clone, a genetic duplicate, was made from an adult somatic cell. Until this experiment of Wilmut and his colleagues, it was commonly held that the genetic matter of an adult differentiated somatic cell could not be reactivated so to allow for the development to term of a viable mammal. Wilmut’s technical success means that the prospect of cloning an adult human being is no longer just idle speculation. It is now a real pressing moral issue. Most discussions of Cloning tend to dwell on the most awful imaginable scenarios rather than the more attractive ones. Admittedly, it is a lot easier to imagine the former than the latter. Dan Brock probably speaks for the majority when he says “I believe it is reasonable to conclude at this time that human cloning doesn’t seem to promise great benefits or meet great human needs.” However, I disagree with this assessment because there seem to be cases in which the human needs are quite compelling and, as a result of this, it would be quite callous to deny certain infertile couples the option of cloning. In addition, I believe a rather useful principle can be found for distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate cases of cloning. After surveying the different types of cases, I will present this principle as a guideline for legislative and institutional policy. My hope is that this guideline will be received by most of the opponents of cloning as a welcome compromise because it rules out the more repugnant cases while allowing the few that are more appealing. We do not have to accept Leon Kass’ claim that “the only safe trench we can dig across the slippery slope ...is to insist upon the inviolable distinction between animal and human cloning.” The opponents of cloning can also take some consolation in the fact that a principled line in the sand has been drawn, one not ba