ABSTRACT

Few scientific techniques have caused as much social controversy as the prospect of human cloning. Though the idea of cloning has been part of popular culture for decades, the international interest in cloning was sparked in 1997 with the birth of Dolly, the first successfully cloned mammal. Dolly was a sheep created at Scotland’s Roslin Institute by a research team led by Ian Wilmut. Since her birth, the international community has struggled with the ethical issues associated with human cloning. Many countries have passed laws, and others, such as my country, Canada, are in the midst of developing cloning policies. At the international level, the United Nations has considered a cloning treaty that would ban all reproductive cloning. But why is cloning viewed as so repugnant? Is cloning always morally wrong? And if so, why?