Mini-Me

Some time toward the end of PL 5 or the beginning of PL 6, researchers find the solution for the developmental problems to which clones are prone. At this point, it is possible for scientists to successfully clone any living organism with an acceptably low failure ratio. (In most cases, a ratio equal to or lower than the general infant mortality rate is sufficient.)

Each clone, though, must still go through the same gestation period and developmental processes as a child conceived through ordinary procreation. In fact, without a detailed genetic examination, it is difficult (if not impossible) to tell the difference between a naturally conceived baby and a clone.

Provided the clone is given the same nutritional and physical environment the original person had, he develops physically in exactly the same way as the original person. The two may be completely different in terms of personality and temperament, much the same way as any parent and offspring. The clone may be a physical recreation of a person, but it is not an emotional or intellectual duplicate.

A good deal of debate centers around potential medical uses for this technology—creating clones but not allowing them to come to full gestation so that research and experimentation can be performed on the fetuses. In most settings, cloning is illegal for any reason other than reproduction.

This fact changes only when scientists discover a way to create viable organs without first creating a viable life form.