Patrick D. Hopkins

About the author: Patrick D. Hopkins teaches philosophy, bioethics, and science and technology studies at the University of Colorado.

The media coverage of cloning following the announcement of the successful cloning of a sheep (Dolly) in Scotland in 1997 both revealed and created public worries about human cloning. Ethical worries about cloning centered around three central concerns: the loss of human individuality, the motivations of would-be cloners, and the fear of out-of-control scientists. Media reports on cloning also reflected two widely held ideas: that genes determine one's destiny, and that copies are inferior to the original.

Without having read a single article, heard a single presentation, or taken a single bioethics class, most Americans have already received training in the ethics of cloning. When the news that scientists had cloned...