Further Down the Slope

In considering cloning pros and cons, it is important to keep in mind the effects that will come of the development of this technology in the future. It is easy to see the slippery slope toward human cloning that is created by the acceptance of the idea of pet cloning. Pets are companions to humans, and many people regard their pets very highly. When it becomes acceptable to clone your pet, it becomes slightly less taboo to clone humans. These changes in attitude toward the cloning process are reflected not only in society's views on the topic, but also in laws regarding it. A shift in attitude and legality toward acceptance of cloning will result in a surreal future in which human cloning is the norm.

When Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996, animal cloning was a controversial topic. Thirteen years later, we have arrived in a time when it is acceptable to pay a large amount of money to clone your pet. This concept would have been dismissed twenty years ago, but our increasing familiarity with animal cloning has forced us to become more comfortable with it. Not only are animals being cloned, so are human organs. How much further off is cloning a human being?

In addition to changes in attitude toward cloning, society needs to remain mindful of changes in the legal status of cloning. This is especially relevant currently, as much attention has surrounded the recent reversal by President Obama of the ban of federal funding of stem cell research. Almost a decade before this event, though, a patent issued in Europe included in its coverage the cloning of human cells. It should be noted that the scientists who received the patent claimed to have no intent to engage in human cloning. However, the patent raises an important question about the legality of cloning and the legal precedents that have been set around it.