Is Cloning Ethical?

Okay, the first thing you have to understand is that cloning is not "creating" a human. Cloning is simply using the natural processes that already exist to produce a baby. It's a very clumsy and inefficient way of doing that, compared to the natural way, but it's the same. Scientists take a sperm and an egg, and give them pre-existing genetic structures and then let the miracle of reproduction occur. They even use a real womb to do it in. Really, all cloning is, is a form of genetic engineering: defining the genetics of a baby. So the question is not whether or not the clone has a soul, of course it has a soul, because basically it’s an identical twin, albeit a contrived one. The clone would hypothetically have a slightly different set of fingerprints, and their own personality traits unique from, if perhaps similar to, the DNA donor. The real question is, is it ethical to determine genetic traits before conception? This question has to be taken in context, too. The fact is that cloning is so inaccurate and flawed currently, that 85% of the attempts would fail completely, another 10% would have horrible genetic flaws that would render them mentally retarded, physically deformed, and probably not allow them to live, leaving the 5% that were successful with another problem: the DNA would have the age of the host programmed into it. The clone would have a genetic illness that would cause them to age rapidly to the age of the host and deteriorate health-wise. The clone's life span would be limited by this illness, and scientists have no way of curing it currently. That's what happened to Dolly the clone-sheep.


So, in fact, not only is cloning a form of genetic engineering, it is not a very good form of genetic engineering, since the clones would be genetically inferior to a regular baby. So the answer to the question is: yes, cloning is unethical. Someday, geneticists may overcome all of the problems I have just mentioned, and then you have another question on your hands, specifically, is it ethical to pre-design babies. But until that day, it remains a barbaric practice.