ABSTRACT
In July 1996 in Scotland, Dolly the sheep was born. The announcement of Dolly’s birth in early 1997 attracted international scientific and media attention – not the usual way of marking the birth of one more sheep in the world. However, Dolly was different. Born at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, Dolly was a clone. With the birth of one sheep, cloning moved from the realm of futuristic science fiction, into the realm of the present and possible. The furore that followed was, in many ways predictable, for Dolly’s birth appeared to open a Pandora’s box of ethical dilemmas about the cloning of human beings. International concern over the potential for human cloning motivated governments and other bodies to consider its implications. Overwhelmingly, cloning of whole individuals has been condemned.
