Based upon the research that has already been done, human cloning would pose serious health risks to the woman, fetus, and newborn; there have been several unhealthy results, including congenital malformations, physical deformities, immune system deficiencies and premature aging.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has been very adamant in promoting the ban on human cloning, stating:

    The scientific evidence documenting the serious health risks associated with reproductive cloning, as shown through animal studies, make it unconscionable to undertake this procedure.

High risks are plausible for almost all parties involved, according to “Pros and Cons of Human Cloning:”

…based on previous animal cloning, human reproductive cloning would be dangerous for the woman, fetus, and newborn….female animals carrying cloned fetuses may face serious risks, including death from cloning-related complications (1).

The high risk to women would come from the high levels of hormones given to them to stimulate egg production and the risks from the surgery used to obtain eggs for experimentation.  Problems with human cloning also arise in that the newborn is the one at the most risk and there is no way for the scientists to obtain consent from the cloned offspring (1).

Even Dr. Wilmut, the scientist responsible for the successful cloning of Dolly, our closest proven step towards human cloning warns against human cloning:

It is not possible to think of a way of screening out effectively the most appropriate embryos, and hence, what we should expect would be late abortions -- either occurring spontaneously or being induced deliberately in the second or third trimester of pregnancy -- in order to prevent the birth of abnormal children.

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