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These are not idle concerns. Even as we pon-
der the ethical implications of human cloning,
companies are forging ahead with the cloning
of human stem cells for seemingly beneficial
purposes, marching steadily toward a Brave
New World^2 in which humanity will be forever
different from what it is today.PASSAGE 2
The irrational fears about human cloning that
abound from all parts of the political spectrum
should not surprise anyone who knows a little
bit about the history of technology. Hardly
anything significant has been invented that no
segment of the population has denounced as
evil: factories, trains, automobiles, telephones,
televisions, computers. Not even medicine has
been spared this vituperation, despite its obvi-
ous benefits to humanity. Before the merits of
surgery became obvious, it was unimaginable
that slicing the flesh of a human being could do
more harm than good.
At first glance, it might seem that cloning is a
whole new ballgame. After all, cloning is “the en-
gineering of human life,” isn’t it? It is the mass
production of designer babies. It is the end of
evolution, or at least the beginning of its corpo-
rate management. It is certainly a slap in the face
of God. Or is it?
One of scariest things to the opponents of
cloning is the prospect of human beings having
identical genetic codes. As cloning foe Jeremy
Rifkin has said: “It’s a horrendous crime to
make a Xerox of someone. You’re putting a
human into a genetic straitjacket.” Logically,
then, Mr. Rifkin must be repulsed by natural-
born identical multiples: there is no scientific
way to distinguish the DNA of one’s identical
twin from that of one’s clone. Perhaps the whole
system of natural human procreation is sus-
pect, if it is capable of occasionally churning
out such monstrosities.
We need nothing more than the most rudi-
mentary common sense to see how vacuous
such an argument is. We all know identical
twins who have their own unique thoughts,
talents, experiences, and beliefs. They are nothorrendous monsters. Human beings are more
than merely their DNA; they are the products of
the continual and inscrutably complex inter-
actions of environment and biology. Human
clones would be no different.
The most common objection we hear from
the anti-cloning lobby is that those who would
clone human beings are “playing God,” and
trespassing into territory that can only bring the
wrath of nature or its creator. Most of these
arguments are basically theological, and rest on
the most effective tool of human control ever in-
vented: fear of God. We can easily get people to
hate something by calling it “unnatural.” But
this argument is even more easily demolished
than the previous one, because it falls so easily
in line with so many obviously silly claims. This
argument rests on the assumption that human
ingenuity has essentially no value, that improv-
ing on nature is the height of hubris. This is the
reasoning of the Dark Ages. Nature presents veg-
etables and meats only in raw form, so isn’t the
cooking of food a human transgression against
nature? Nature gives us feet, not wheels, so
aren’t bicycles evil? If we were to abandon all of
the “unnatural” practices and products from
our lives, we would be shivering in caves eating
uncooked leaves and bugs.
Maybe human procreation is a different arena,
however, more sacred than all of the others. But
then, why have the technologies of fertility
enhancement, in vitro fertilization, embryo
transfer, and birth control become so widely
accepted? They are telling examples: each of
these procreational technologies had legions of
vocal opponents—at first—but over time the
protests mellowed as people realized that the sky
wouldn’t fall after all. Familiarity dissipates fear.
What most opponents of genetic technology
don’t realize is that their supposedly “moral”
objections are impeding true moral progress.
With genetic engineering and stem cell research,
scientists finally have within their grasp tech-
nologies that can produce ample food for a
starving world and cure devastating illnesses.
Only ignorant superstition stands in their way.(^2) A futuristic novel by Aldous Huxley that describes the mass
production of genetically identical human babies