Protecting the rights of children
One of the most powerful arguments against cloning is how it will harm the child who will be born as a result of the procedure, not only medically but emotionally as well. For instance if the child is the genetic copy of the parent, what sense of self will it have? Will the child have free will or is it destined to feel the burdens of ‘sins of the father.’ If the child was cloned from a dead sibling, what might the expectations be? Will they be realistic?
Cloned children will have confusing family relationships. If a couple clones the father as their son, then his father will also be their his brother, he would also be his mother’s brother in law as well as her son. If there were any natural siblings then he would be their brother and their uncle as well. If he had children he would be their father in addition to being their great uncle since they will be the grandchildren of his father who is also his brother, making the children his grandnieces and nephews.
Cloned children would not be able to give their consent if they were to be used as kidney or bone marrow donors. They would also be part of an experiment to which they did not agree which goes against standard medical practice.