HUMAN CLONING IS ETHICAL

Since the dawn of time, there were those who opposed mankind’s ventures into then-uncharted scientific frontiers—anesthesia, atomic power, and computer technology—out of fear of the changes in everyday life they would invoke. Today, such is the case with our ability to clone humans, which is completely safe and ethical, yet outlawed simply because of our society’s unfounded fears.

While so much fervor over the immorality of cloning has been brewing, many of the people advocating the ban do not have a clear, accurate idea of what it truly is. It is commonly believed that a clone of an adult will be an exact duplicate, down to the very age and personality of the clonee (person being cloned). In reality, however, all clones must start off as babies and physically mature at the same rate as everyone else. Thus, if one clones a thirty-year-old man, the clone will always appear thirty years younger than the original.

Another erroneous belief is that the clone will behave exactly like the clonee, thereby robbing the original of his or her uniqueness. Self-proclaimed "bioethicists" often create a fictitious scenario in which someone clones Hitler and takes over the world. What these arguments ignore is that individual personality is largely shaped by environment, conditioning, and free will, and not just by biology .

If life experiences and background truly mold a person’s character, then these circumstances must be taken into account for the personalities of clones.
Being born in a different time period, the clone will already face many life experiences unlike that of the parent—he’ll have different friends, be influenced by different teachers, and adapt to the modern culture of his own age group.

Though they are nature’s own clones, a few twins even turn out to be behavioral opposites. A clone of Hitler may end up a freedom-espousing, Civil Rights advocate. While cloning may be possible in the near future, exact duplication remains a simple pipedream. Any "egotist" or would-be dictator who expects his clone to be a copy of himself will be sorely disappointed.


One of the more valid issues raised by bioethicists is that the pioneering clones will grow up in households different from the socially-accepted norm, and that they may be treated as outcasts. However, today children are growing up in many different households considered less than ideal, such as single-parent homes or families with in vitro fertilized children. Though these households were once regarded as abnormal, most of the children in them mature into well-adjusted adults who function satisfactorily in the community.

There are indeed many more serious issues involving clones not raised by the bioethicists, but all of these can be answered by applying the principles of individual property rights.
Also, because one owns his own physiological structure, he should have the right to peacefully do whatever he wants with it—such as cloning himself—provided that he does not harm the life, liberty, or property of others.

Still,one question this raises is, "If cloning is legal, what should stop ‘mad scientists’ from cloning others against their will?" The answer is that, since an individual owns his or her DNA, no one can use his or her genetic material for any purpose other than what he or she permits . Individual rights also protect clones from abuse. Full-bodied, human clones would have rights, because, unlike animals and separately-cloned body parts, they have the ability to think, which means that they possess the abstract concept of rights, and therefore can respect the rights of others. Because of this, it would be illegal to grow an entire body for transplanting body parts, since this violates the clone’s rights to life and liberty .

Thus, the cloning of human beings in the future will improve life in a number of ways. The mere cloning of human embryos, which will not even develop into fetuses, can be used in the production of new medicines. (This use is not a violation of life, since the embryo has not become a true human being ) .
Also, the cloning of existing adults will give psychologists a better understanding of which factors develop our character the most.

Human cloning would probably most improve life for infertile couples who would still like to have biological children. Many of these couples would prefer to have babies by more natural, socially-accepted means, but this is simply not an option for them. They still desire to pass on their own genes to another generation, however, and cloning makes this possible.

It is natural for humans to fear the new and unusual, but when we let this fear control us, we may refuse ourselves great pleasures and prosperity. Not only does real human cloning contradict the misconceptions we have formed, but abuses in this area would be most adequately controlled by are already-established free market system, and the advancements made in our civilization would be fantastic. A ban would undermine all of this. Rather than cling to the status quo and equilibrium of everyday life, we would do well to put our prejudices aside, and welcome the grand wonders and joys human cloning will bestow upon the world.