On most controversial issues, there are people who stand to win and others that stand to lose. In this case, cloning will have no negative impact on anyone, and a strong positive impact on childless couples. The the opponents of cloning that dominate media attention offer no concrete, rational objections. Their arguments appeal to a deep-seated, irrational fear of innovation. Congress must examine the facts, and the facts are that there is nothing practically or ethically wrong with cloning in and of itself.
Science depends on the pursuit of information unfettered by politics.
These three bills, which seek to fetter science, are being considered for purely political reasons. The passage of any of these three bills is a symbolic concession to luddite pressure groups, and sets the stage for the banning of other unpopular or poorly understood fields of scientific research. Laws already exist to protect human rights. Legally the relationship of a parent and a child who was cloned from them would be the same as the relationship between any ordinary parent and child. The constitutional rights of a person conceived through cloning would be no different than the constitutional rights of any other person.