OK, so it’s not illegal to clone a human in the US yet, but… suppose it does become illegal in the US, but not in, say, the Ukraine.
What would the legal status of a cloned human in the United States? Would the clone be regarded as contraband and confiscated at customs (I’m talking about a clone that has developed into a full-fledged person, not just an embryo)? Would said clone have any civil rights? Would it be considered a human being? Shot on sight?
It’s one thing to ban cloning, but, it’s gonna happen. I am just curious as to what ‘rights’ a clone would have when it does.
While a fully developed clone raises issues from ethical to theological I don’t think there is any legal issue regarding the status of a cloned person. Original IVF baby Louise Brown is a citizen of the realm like any other and I would not imagine a person who came from a cloned embryo would be any different.
Padeye – was IVF ever illegal? Has it been banned anywhere? I think that’s what makes this situation particularly tricky – the act that resulted in this person is (in my hypothetical situation) illegal, much like growing marijuana is illegal.
Keeve – Hell, I think that clones would be cool. Provided that they don’t try to take over the world with an unholy army of the night… wait… that’s zombies. They’re cool, too.
I think i’ve gotta agree with Padeye…because clones won’t be un-human (in fact they’ll be noncontemporious twins of the person that they’re clones of) they will have all of the same human rights as the rest of us.
You’re not going to shoot a person because he or she is a clone (you probably won’t be able to tell that they’re a clone anyway).
Since naturally occuring clones (identical twins and triplets) are considered full-fledged humans beings, and since the offspring of a rape (an illegal act) is considered fully human, I would assume an artificially-produced human clone would likewise be considered a legal human being.
The “illegality” is not in the clone - it’s in the actions of those who did the cloning. We do not punish children for the crimes of their parents (or at least that’s the theory)
Rape is an illegal act. Does that make a child born to a rape victim or one concieved out of wedlock “illegal?” The concept has no legal meaning. Just how do you make a person illegal anyway? Is it a crime for them to exist? Your comparison to marijuana is a faulty one as cultivating or making drugs may be a separate crime from simple posession.
This presents some good ideas for science fiction if not legislation. If you make it a crime for someone to exist how to you deal with the crime? Can’t use conventional means to kill them as they’d still exist, just be dead. Burning at the stake is no good, their atoms would still exist. [Future Judge]The accused stands before he court conviced of the crime of being and is therefore sentenced to be annihilated out of existance with an equal amount of antimatter[/FJ]
Actually, right after I posted my marijuana allegory, I realized that it was stupid.
However: the act of rape is illegal. Conception that is a result of said rape is not illegal. The issue with cloning is that (potentially) the conception of a clone (outside of identical twinning)is illegal. So – would clone embryos being developed in a lab be destroyed by police, or would they be allowed to go to term and become humans? Seriously, I think this is an issue that needs to be worked out before cloning is banned outright.
