At Issue: Cloning.

• Position: Book Review

New York: Greenhaven Press, 2003; www.gale.com.

Unquestionably, opponents of cloning greatly outnumber supporters of the procedure. While some advocacy groups such as the American Anti-Vivisection Society argue that animal cloning is cruel, the overwhelming majority of opposition is directed not at animal cloning but at the future possibility of widespread reproductive human cloning. Critics of human cloning fall into several categories including, among others, religious, ethical, moral, and sociological. There are those who view cloning as a violation of biblical principles, specifically the command for men and women to multiply by consensual sexual union. Many see human cloning as unethical and even immoral since the technology is still in its developmental stage would be unconscionable. Finally, some argue that in a very real sense the clone would part company with virtually all of humanity in that he or she would be a manufactured commodity, the product of a scientific procedure. Those critics argue that the clone would be condemned to lead his or her life as an echo or reflection of its donor parent.

Although fewer in number, most proponents of cloning are as passionate and varied in their support of the procedure as the majority is in its opposition. Civil libertarians claim that any...