Is Embryo Cloning Moral?

Cloning of animals seems to have a number of potentially positive results:

	Scientists are attempting to create transgenic pigs which have human genes. Their heart, liver or kidneys might be useable as organ transplants in humans. This would save many lives; thousands of people die each year waiting for available human organs. Once achieved, transgenic animals could be cloned to produce as many organs as are needed.
	Experience gained in cloning may add to our understanding of genetics.
	Researchers have produced transgenic animals. These are genetically altered, typically in order to produce human hormones or proteins in its milk. These materials can be separated from the milk and used to heal humans. Cloning would produce as many genetically altered animals as are needed. The alternative is to simply allow them to mate; this would produce many offspring that had lost the inserted human gene and thus would be unable to produce the medication.

Embryo cloning of humans: Some scientists believe that embryo cloning and related research is moral and might eventually lead to very positive results:

	It might produce greater understanding of the causes of miscarriages; this might lead to a treatment to prevent spontaneous abortions. This would be of immense help for women who cannot bring a fetus to term.
	It might lead to an understanding of the mechanisms by which a morula (a mass of cells that has developed from a blastula) attaches itself to the wall of the uterus. This might generate new, effective contraceptives that exhibit very few side effects.
	The rapid growth of the human morula is similar to the rate at which cancer cells propagate. Cancer researchers believe that if a method is found to stop the division of a human ovum then a technique for terminating the growth of a cancer might be found.

	Parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic defect to a child could make use of cloning. A fertilized ovum could be cloned, and the duplicate tested for the disease or disorder. If the clone was free of genetic defects, then the other clone would be as well. The latter could be implanted in the woman and allowed to mature to term.
	In conventional in vitro fertilization, doctors attempt to start with many ova, fertilize each with sperm and implant all of them in the woman's womb in the hope that one will result in pregnancy. But some women can only supply a single egg; her chances of becoming pregnant are slim. Through the use of embryo cloning, that egg might be divisible into, say, 8 zygotes for implanting. The chance of those women becoming pregnant would be much greater.
	Cloning could produce a reservoir of "spare parts". Fertilized ova could be cloned into multiple zygotes; one could be implanted in the woman and allowed to develop into a normal baby; the other zygotes could be frozen for future use. In the event that the child required a bone marrow transplant, one of the zygotes could be taken out of storage, implanted, allowed to mature to a baby and then contribute some of its spare bone marrow to its (earlier) identical twin. Bone marrow can be harvested from a person without injuring them.
	A woman could prefer to have one set of identical twins, rather than go through two separate pregnancies. She might prefer this for a number of reasons: to minimize disruption to her career. to make a normal vaginal delivery possible (twin fetuses are smaller than a single fetus; delivery of a larger, single fetus might be impossible because of her shape. she might prefer to only have to endure the discomfort of a single pregnancy. she might wish to have children that could contribute a kidney to their sibling, if needed. Through embryo cloning, she could be assured that she would deliver identical twins.

Some individuals and groups have expressed concerns about adverse effects of embryo cloning in humans, and question its morality:

	The genetic screening test described above could also be used to eliminate zygotes of a particular gender, without requiring a later abortion.
	When the gene or genes that determine sexual orientation are located, cloning could also be used to eliminate zygotes of a particular sexual orientation.
	A country might finance a program similar to that of Nazi Germany whereby humans were bred to maximize certain traits. Once the "perfect human" was developed, embryo cloning could be used to replicate that individual and conceivably produce unlimited numbers of clones. The same approach could be used to create a genetic underclass for exploitation: e.g. individuals with sub-normal intelligence and above normal strength.
	There is always the possibility of injuring or killing embryos. Most pro-life supporters believe that an embryo is a human person. During embryo cloning, they would be subjected to assault with the possibility of being murdered. The embryos would be treated as a commodity to be exploited, not as a person. Source