With the current high interest in cloning, I would like to propose my own take on the matter. The key issue is when does a group of growing differentiating cells become a human being? It's a perplexing gray area. On one end there is the zygote which many claim has equal status as full-term child. It's a nice idea but if one were to criminalize the destruction of zygotes or even early embryos one would end up arresting most of our women. In the normal course of nature otherwise-viable embryos often simply fail to implant. Are we prepared to prosecute for these losses of human life? I propose a standard that human life truly begins when the nervous of an embryo is sufficiently developed to pass impulses along its pathways. That will give our researchers the space they need to develop potentially life-saving therapies yet will prevent us from causing pain and suffering to an entity that is developing into a human.

As for the cloning thing, I have reared some clones of my own. My identical twin daughters are doing quite well, thank you. A clone deserves the same level of respect (or lack thereof) as the equivalent naturally-occurring embryo.