| Proposals in favor of reproductive cloning (RC) create | | | | Other parents may be focused on a particular trait. |
| immediate controversy. Passionate proponents and | | | | They want to have a child who could become a |
| equally passionate opponents can be found in any | | | | professional athlete, a rich Wall Street banker, or a |
| Starbucks, every state capitol, and the halls of | | | | famous movie star. They're willing to pay for the |
| Congress. Opponents are concerned with the | | | | right to create a clone using the DNA of such a |
| possibility of treating children who are the products | | | | luminary. |
| of cloning as means to various ends, rather than | | | | In these situations the resulting child is treated as a |
| treating them as ends in themselves. Opponents are | | | | means to an end. In Groundwork of the Metaphysics |
| also concerned that these children, even if they are | | | | of Morals, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant |
| treated with full respect and as ends in themselves, | | | | famously stated "So act that you use humanity... |
| will not have opportunities to have fully "open | | | | always at the same time as an end, never merely as |
| futures".1 | | | | a means".2 Our moral status as persons implies we |
| Prospective parents may want to use reproductive | | | | are ends, in and of ourselves. We have a duty to |
| cloning as a method to address infertility. For these | | | | respect the individuality of another and not use |
| potential parents, RC would be an additional form of | | | | another solely as a means. Parents who try to create |
| assisted reproductive technology. But others may | | | | a replica of an already existing child or create a clone |
| wish to produce a child by cloning for reasons that | | | | of a famous or wealthy person violate the |
| address their own selfish needs and desires. In such | | | | personhood and moral status of the child who is |
| cases the future child's welfare and interests are | | | | created. |
| afterthoughts, at best. | | | | Even though its intended use is to help infertile |
| For example, parents may wish to use the cloning | | | | couples have children, opponents of reproductive |
| process to create a child who is a replica of one of | | | | cloning are concerned that legalization of the process |
| their current children. The living child may be talented, | | | | will lead to abuse by unscrupulous potential parents. |
| beautiful, and intelligent and the parents want to | | | | 1Feinberg J: The child's right to an open future. In |
| ensure their next child will be exactly like the one | | | | Feinberg J: Freedom and Fulfillment. Princeton, NJ, |
| they already have. The parents don't want to roll the | | | | Princeton University Press, 1992, 76-97 |
| genetic dice. They want to control the reproductive | | | | 2 Wood AW: Kant. |
| process and, so they think, guarantee the outcome. | | | | |