Tonight I screened The Sixth Day, Schwarzenegger’s 2000 cloning flick, for my twin sons.  After the movie was over, I had them read this passage aloud:

If you think clones are contrary to nature, think twice. Identical twins are naturally occurring clones–two humans who have all their genes in common. Since clones already walk among us, we don’t have to idly philosophize about the psychological and social dangers of cloning. We can look–and see that cloning’s opponents don’t know what they’re talking about. The Council on Bioethics warns, “A cloned child . . . is at risk of living out a life overshadowed in important ways by the life of the ‘original.'” Yet identical twins rarely agonize over their supposed lack of individuality. Instead, they feel grateful for their special bond. When people ask how my identical twin sons get along, I answer, “I’ve never seen anything like it. They are literally ‘brotherly.'”

Human cloning is not just a noble dream.  We desperately need clones to teach us, once and for all, that life is a gift – and one does not look a gift horse in the mouth.