Summary of an article by Gregory E. Pence, “Will Cloning Harm People?”
This paper summarizes the pro-cloning arguments presented in Gregory Pence’s article on cloning. The arguments Pence makes about the positive aspects of cloning and why cloning should not be considered immoral or unethical are outlined, as well as some of the responses Pence provides to the moral and ethical arguments made against cloning.
Cloning human beings raises a host of ethical problems and brings to mind heinous Frankenstein-like scenarios. Gregory E. Pence argues that science fiction, fear-mongering, and ignorance are at the root of common fears and prejudices against the science of human cloning. According to Pence, cloning is really no different from other means of tampering with the reproductive process such as in vitro fertilization. Furthermore, many of the arguments once used against in vitro fertilization are now being raised against cloning, proving that it is only a matter of time before cloning is accepted by the bioethical community and the general population. In his essay Will Cloning Harm People? Pence offers pithy rebuttals to common moral arguments against cloning, focusing mainly on the potential well-being and rights of the cloned individual, as this is a central issue of concern in bioethics. Pence asserts that there is no inherent difference between a cloned human and a monozygotic twin or a baby conceived through in vitro fertilization and that there is no reason to assume that a cloned person would be treated any differently from his or her natural-born counterpart.