Cloning

I'm not advocating cloning.  But I think it's scary that the government is beginning to challenge scientific freedom.  It may start with animal cloning or the prohibition of harvesting stem cells from wherever.  But it could quickly spiral out of control.  

In his state of the Union address for 2008, President George W. Bush talked about reprogramming stem cells and called for a ban on cloning.  The interesting thing about this idea of a ban on cloning is that for most people it probably starts from fears illustrated in many SciFi novels.  Which is also amusing since 1984 was a great SciFi novel and here we are today with most of our communications monitored and people don't seem to be nearly as upset as they should be!  

But seriously, what is it about cloning that has people so freaked out?  If you're a materialist, then you don't believe in an independent soul that would be the uniqueness.  Therefore a clone would merely be the same genetic material with differences in environment would produce a different person.  Take for example identical twins!  Are they the same person?  Are they clones?  If you are a dualist - then you believe that at the start of life, God (or some being) introduces a soul that is linked to our flesh and blood bodies.  Even clones would have separate (different) souls.  Just as identical twins do.  

Most people don't have objections to modifying the genes to prevent autism or any other birth defect.  Did no one see Gattaca but me?