Serious ethical issues were raised, however, when the work was described in the press. The writer, Rebecca Kolberg, went on to point out that Hall himself was aware of the ethical concerns, and had performed the experiments, in part, to generate discussion on whether human cloning should be permitted. Although the cloned embryos did not develop to the point where they could implant into the uterine wall, it should be stressed that these were abnormal embryos, and this was the first reported attempt at human cloning. Science fiction cannot be the subject of serious ethical debate, which must respect the laws of plausibility. Not at all.
Guidelines are in place.
The guidelines were followed. What is needed at all levels of society is more discussion hopefully leading to an understanding that the purpose of all such efforts is to improve the human condition. Surely these were laudable sentiments, but they failed to take into account the fast-moving pace of modern biology. Indeed, today's science fiction is tomorrow's reality. In fact, the cloning of farm animals and laboratory rodents has moved forward at a terrific pace.