The Constitutional Implications of Human Cloning

Abstract:     
The author surveys the constitutional provisions most likely to be implicated by human cloning (assuming it occurs), including the First, Fourth and Thirteenth Amendments, as well as the Due Process and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The article also offers a critical exploration of the possible governmental interests in regulating or banning human cloning, including preservation of marriage and the family, protecting personal autonomy and privacy, preserving the sanctity of human life, protecting the health and safety of human embryos, and preserving genetic diversity. The author concludes that, contrary to popular opinion, the current legal regime appears adequately prepared to handle human cloning without the passage of additional legislation. The most commonly feared science fiction abuses associated with human cloning are avoidable under current law and, moreover, any legislatively-enacted regulation of human cloning may run afoul of existing constitutional guarantees.

JEL Classification: K32, K19, I18, I10

Accepted Paper Series