Cloning

[Eugene Volokh]

Teresa Collett writes:

> If dignity is grounded upon the unique nature of the individual, and
> cloning allows for identical reproduction, then upon what basis do we say
> the person is entitled to dignity?  If dignity is based upon the fact the
> person is created in God's image, and cloning is an entity created in
> man's image, what is our obligation to recognize its dignity?

    Forgive me, but I'm not quite sure I understand this:  If an
identical twin possesses dignity even though he is not *genetically*
unique, why wouldn't a clone possess the same dignity?  To the extent
uniqueness is important (and I'm not quite sure it should be), isn't
uniqueness of personality -- which clones fully have -- more
important than uniqueness of genetic code?

                               -- Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law