Viewpoint: Yes, because of the potential physical dangers and the profound ethical dilemmas it poses, the cloning of human beings should be prohibited.

Viewpoint: No, the cloning of human beings should not be prohibited because the potential for medical accidents or malfeasance is grossly overstated, and the ethical questions raised by detractors are not unique to cloning—indeed, ethical questions attend every scientific advancement.

Since the birth of Dolly, the cloned sheep, in 1997, several reproductive scientists, including Severino Antinori, Brigitte Boisselier, and Panayiotis Michael Zavos, have announced that they were ready to clone human beings. However, cloning mammals is still a highly experimental technique. Scientists involved in cloning various mammals have reported many technical problems. A large majority of the clones die during gestation or soon after birth. Placental malfunction seems to be a...