Multiplying individuals, ethical implications of the human reproductive cloning

Abstract

In 1996 the birth of ‘Dolly’, the first mammal cloned, has opened discussions among biologists and the public about the desirability of such a technology (Terragni 1999, Dijck 1998). This is surprising when we think that cloning was not a new technology. The first experiments of nuclear transfer with amphibians (Rana pipiens and Xenoplus laevis) were performed in the United States and Britain during 1950s (Gordon & Colman 2000:743-746). Nuclear transfer experiments were performed in amphibians in the 1960s, in mice in the 1970s, in sheep in the 1980s, and in monkeys in the 1990s. In this paper I deal with ethical issues related to human reproductive cloning. I will claim that we have no reason to oppose human reproductive cloning a priori.