# Is cloning a human still a technical challenge or simply a legal/ethical decision? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2008, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280 "2008-09-19T08:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/1 "2008-09-19T08:08:32Z")
Just curious. Cloning animals seems to almost routine these days, Is cloning a human still an unsolved technical challenge, or simply a matter of making a decision to proceed with it? ---
**Author:** ![Crescend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Crescend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crescend)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/2 "2008-09-19T13:46:31Z")
Cloning primates in general is very hard. I think that there have been some successes with Old World monkeys, but none of the Great Apes have been successfully cloned yet. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/3 "2008-09-19T18:09:47Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Just curious. Cloning animals seems to almost routine these days, Is cloning a human still an unsolved technical challenge, or simply a matter of making a decision to proceed with it? I’ve been trying to find the chart, but in the last 2 years one of the Wired magazines had a chart that detailed cloning successes by each stage of the process and by animal. The human cloning process had a similar success rate in each stage as other animals (some single digit number). Of course, they never went through every stage with human cloning. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/4 "2008-09-19T20:15:21Z")
I actually put that picture in my lectures on cloning, so I had it in my files. Probably not the best resolution, but I think it’s what you’re looking for. [http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cloningjd7.jpg](http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cloningjd7.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/5 "2008-09-19T21:36:26Z")
Did they ever solve the problem (in animals) of shortened telomeres causing premature aging? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cloning-a-human-still-a-technical-challenge-or-simply-a-legal-ethical-decision/464280/6 "2008-09-19T22:53:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did they ever solve the problem (in animals) of shortened telomeres causing premature aging? Nope, still a problem, because there is no reliable way to “grow” telomeres, so every generation of replication tends to have shorter and shorter chains. The true function(s) of telomeres isn’t fully understood, but there is a definite correlation between aging and telomere length; however, there are also apparent correlation between telomere length and susceptibility to cancer and some chronic illnesses. I’m not sure about the legal implications, whether one could actually legally prohibit human cloning in the United States, although federal law prevents funding for “cloning”. To be specific, there are several states that have passed laws against reproductive or therapeutic cloning; however, I doubt any of these laws could pass a strong challenge without also encompassing in vitro fertilization, gene therapy, and other widely accepted and utilized techniques. Despite all the fear mongering about “making another Hitler” or whatever, cloning is essentially replicating natural biological processes (or modifications thereof) in a laboratory environment. Stranger