I think the concerns about the safety of the procedure of human cloning are valid. The argument that we ought to wait to try cloning on humans until we have perfected the method on animals makes some degree of sense. But even so, suppose you were a slightly deformed human clone - would you agree that it was a terrible moral offense to have caused you to come into existence?
Our immediate emotional reactions to medical developments are not a reliable guide to their morality. Many seem too ignorant, narrow-minded, and prone to prejudice to appreciate the long-term benefits of technological development. Therefore, the “yuck factor” should be distrusted, not glorified.
Who knows when the first human clone will come into being, but by the time it becomes an adult, the moral debates over cloning may already be long forgotten. The present opponents of cloning may retire or move on to being outraged about other things.
Ultimately, I think cloning will not significantly change the world. Other issues will overshadow this technology but hopefully it will provide some infertile couples the chance to have a child of their own that they would otherwise have not had. Some people may try to use cloning to bring back a lost child or a loved one, not realizing that personal identity is not reducible to genetic identity. Furthermore, some people may choose to have a child that is a clone of a stranger they admire, perhaps a great scientist or athlete.
Scientists, politicians, and theologians have a choice. They can work against the developments that will make us posthuman and join the reactionary forces that condemn each new technological breakthrough that changes human nature. Or we can stand by the sidelines and passively watch the future unfold. Or we can actively participate in creating the future that will enable us to reach almost unimaginable levels of human flourishing and well-being through the use of advanced technology to defeat disease and aging and to increase our human capacities to entirely new levels.
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