The Ethics of CloningOn February 27, 1997, it was reported that scientists had produced the first clone of an adult sheep, attracting international attention and raising questions about the morality of cloning. Within days, the public was calling for ethics investigations and new laws banning cloning. Questions are now being raised about the potentially destructive side of this scientific frontier. Many people are morally opposed to the possible consequences of women giving birth alone, or of scientists trying to clone "genetically superior" humans. Others argue that the positive effects of cloning will outweigh the negative ones. The question of whether human cloning is ethical is receiving more and more attention as scientists successfully experiment with cloning and gene therapy, moving ever closer to making human clones. An ethical basis for rejecting or accepting cloning in science can be based on several different theories of morality. Interestingly, those who advocate a utilitarian approach, which seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people, can be found on both sides of the issue. Some cloning advocates argue that allowing society to benefit from cloned organs, for example, will outweigh the harmful consequences that could result from the abuse of cloning technology by some scientists. At the same time, those who are staunchly against cloning argue that denying some individuals the right to a cloned child or organ is necessary to protect society from the negative effects this technology will have on humanity at large. Another common ethical approach to cloning is based on Kant's principles of autonomy and self-determination. Those who support this theory often believe that in many cases the individual... middle of paper......Kontorovich, EV "Clone Wars: Asexual Revolution." National review. March 09, 1998.Masood, Ehsan. “Cloning technique reveals legal loophole.” Nature. February 27, 1998.pg 757.Nash, J. Madeline. "The age of cloning." Time. March 10, 1998. page. 62-65. Ross, Sonya. “President Clinton Bans Federally Funded Research on Human Cloning.” U.S. News. March 10, 1997. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/ap0304a.htmStearn, William T. "Clone." Encyclopedia of Biological Sciences, 2nd ed. Travis, J. "Sheep Again? Cloning from Adult DNA." Science news. 01 March 1997. pg132.Wilmut, I., A. E. Schnieke, J. McWhir, A. J. Kind, and K. H. S. Campbell. “Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells.” Nature. February 27, 1998.pg 810-813.World Book Online. "Dolly and other cloning discoveries since then 1996.".