Human Cloning and Human Dignity: The Report of the President's Council on Bioethics. (Essay)‪.‬

In July 2002, the President's Council on Bioethics (PCB) issued its first report, Human Cloning and Human Dignity. The PCB's selection of this first topic was not surprising, in view of the lack of a federal ban on reproductive cloning (what the PCB calls "cloning-to-produce-children") and the vigorous, often rancorous debate about research cloning (what the PCB calls "cloning-for, biomedical research"). Indeed, it would have been surprising for the PCB to start with some other topic. After all, when President Bush met with the PCB during its first meeting, he said: "Let me say two other things and then I will listen. One, you need to monitor the stem cell issue .... And the other thing is that I have spoken clearly on cloning. I just don't think it's right. On the other hand, there is going to be a lot of nuance and subtlety to the issue, I presume. And I think this is very important for you all to help the nation understand what this means." My comments will focus on the report's assessment of ethical arguments for and against cloning-to-produce-children and cloning-for-biomedical research, its divided policy recommendations, and some of the responses it has evoked. Anyone interested in the PCB--or in bioethics--should consult its splendid website (http://www.bioethics.gov), an excellent resource from the very beginning and now even better. The website provides selected readings, staff background papers and working papers, and superb transcripts of the PCB's meetings.