With rumours swirling of the scientific possibility of cloning a human life and a religious cult claiming it already has, one has to ask: are we ready to begin cloning? More importantly, do we have the right to recreate human life or "play God," as some people put it. Human cloning is the asexual production of a human being whose genetic makeup is nearly identical to that of a currently or previously existing person.# Since Scottish scientists made history in 1997 by cloning Dolly the sheep, scientists all over the world have been experimenting with cloning. But we now know that the chances of producing a healthy animal are almost non-existent. Cloning also raises many social, ethical and moral issues in opposition to it, which is why countries such as the United States are taking extreme precautions to ensure that it is outlawed. As early as 1993 in Canada, the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies# also argued against cloning. Federal legislation now pending Royal Assent would make this illegal in Canada as well#. In this essay I will look at the ethical as well as the scientific case against human cloning.
             In 1980, scientists believed cloning was impossible but through movies, television, and novels, cloning captured the imagination of the people. But in 1997, this fantasy became a reality as Scottish scientists cloned the sheep, Dolly. Since then, mice, amphibians and even a pig have been cloned by scientists around the globe. The problem is that is that animal cloning is extremely inefficient. For every 100 experiments, only 1%-2% produce a viable offspring.# Even then, the event of the animal surviving past the prenatal period is highly unlikely. In addition, those animals that do survive often suffer from serious abnormalities.# This makes one wonder if cloned humans would also suffer from various abnormalities and defects similar to the way animals do. "I think that thorough testing mu...