Hindu point of view
In the Hindu world, objections to human cloning rise from a different religious belief. All cloning research violates a major principle of Hinduism: doing no harm to other humans. Human cloning experiments, during which a large percentage of the clones die ahead of time or have serious birth defects, obviously violate this principle. Animal cloning, many experts say, would involve the same failure rate. As a result, most Hindus reject all cloning, including human cloning.
Muslims point of view
Muslims also reject the idea of human cloning. Islam’s holy book, the Koran, states that the creation of human beings results from the joining of the reproductive seeds of a husband and wife. Reproductive cloning, which skips this step, is therefore considered unnatural and in opposition to Islam. In 1983 the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences (IOMS) assembled a meeting on the Islamic view of human reproduction and determined that human cloning was not permissible.
Buddhist point of view
In the Buddhist world view, the earth is a place of suffering in with sickness, old age, and death are unavoidable. The only way to be progress from this world is through enlightenment, the state of full understanding of the nature of existence. The idea of independence is unknown to Buddhism, so Buddhist scholars generally believe that the way children are born is irrelevant. In fact, a few believe reproductive cloning might even be a method of reaching the state of enlightenment more quickly because the process could involve selectively breeding people with advanced moral qualities. Many Buddhists believe that cloning may help to release people from the world of suffering. According to Professor Yong Moon of Korea’s Seoul National University, “Cloning is a different way of thinking about the recycling of life. It’s a Buddhist way of thinking.”
Jews point of view
Judaism holds a fairly positive view of cloning. One of the major beliefs of Judaism is that God wants human beings to use all of their capabilities to improve the health of others. In addition, Jewish law does not recognize the human embryo as a human being. Therefore, cloning, where scientists extract stem cells from embryos, could lead to cures for diseases, most Jewish scholars believe it should be allowed. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the Rabbinical Council of America issued a policy statement on cloning stating that because the procedure could lead to cures for devastating diseases, it should be allowed. “The god commands us to treat and cure the ill and to defeat disease wherever possible; to do this is to be the Creator’s partner in protecting the people that have already been created,” they said.