Bio-ethicists are divided on whether human cloning represents a moral and social ill. University of Minnesota bio-ethicist Jeffrey Kahn says, in one way, cloning is a socially conservative approach to making a family, when you compare it to some of the other solutions infertile couples are now using. I think it gets much more socially complicated when you talk about surrogacy - when other people are brought into the picture, and that often does happen when you are talking about gamete donation as well. It's sort of odd that we are focusing on something that doesn't bring lots more people into the otherwise nuclear family, but rather conserves the genetic material between the two people or only one person from whom it comes. President Clinton banned the use of federal money for cloning research and wants to outlaw both public and private attempts at human cloning for the near future.
Some observers say cloning is inevitable because there are scientists willing to try it.
It won't be any safer if there is a moratorium for seven years than it is today. Infertility specialists at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine are likely to propose their own legislation on cloning in coming weeks. An extensive site covering social, scientific, and medical aspects of the topic. Major funding for Minnesota Public Radio's regional Internet activities is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.