title: On cloning human beings.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to show that arguments for and against cloning fail to make their case because of one or both of the following reasons: 1) they take for granted customary beliefs and assumptions that are far from being unquestionable; 2) they tend to ignore the context in which human cloning is developed. I will analyze some of the assumptions underlying the main arguments that have been offered for and against cloning. Once these assumptions are critically analyzed, arguments both rejecting and supporting human cloning seem to lose weight. I will first briefly present the main arguments that have been proposed against cloning and I will argue that they fail to establish their case. In the next section I will evaluate some of the positive arguments that have been offered supporting such technology. This analysis will show that the case for cloning also fails. Finally, I will maintain that because critics and especially supporters of this technology neglect the context in which human cloning is developed and might be implemented, their arguments are far from compelling.
authors.affiliation: St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA. demelo@stmarytx.edu
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Melo-Martin
mesh_terms: D019976:Cloning, Organism; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D005190:Family; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009042:Motivation; D011640:Public Policy; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D018570:Risk Assessment