Cloning. Stem cell research. Those are such loaded words. Words filled with controversy and contention and passion. One side has concerns over "Are we playing God?" The other wants only a chance to cure debilitating disease. Once, IVF was also facing these very same issues, as was eugenics in the late 19th to early 20th century, horrific "ethnic cleansing" throughout human history and euthanasia. Some outcomes were good and some were bad, these issues will always follow science.
Stem cell research and its uses, once stabilized, should be allowed to proceed but with caution. With any other biological technology, it can be abused and misused. But in the hands of the right people, cloning can actually be, for lack of a better term, a "godsend". For example, a child's organs for one reason or another fail or are damaged. That child has more than likely years to wait for a suitable transplant only to be then subjected to permanently take drugs to avoid rejection. Should that child be denied the chance to have a new set of organs grown specifically for him? While this is a scenario and many more like it are likely to take place years possibly decades in the future, the seeds of it can and should be cultivated today.
On the other hand, I think cloning shouldn't be used superfluously to, say, "replace" a deceased loved one. That is a waste. Everyone is unique and a product of one's environment and consequently irreplaceable. I do understand the pain of losing a loved one, but attempting to "recreate" that person will not diminish that pain, it may even be made worse as the differences would be quite noticeable. Like the old saying goes, "What doesn't kill us will make us stronger."
Cloning Fact Sheet
Stem Cell Politics Shifting (Cosmic Log/MSNBC)
Stem Cells (Wikipedia)
Stem Cell Controvery (Wikipedia)
Humans are a durable lot; we've survived this long.... A couple of stem cells won't kill us.
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