Ethics issues concerning the ethics principle of ___ are present when people debate about the human status of cloned persons.

Ethics issues concerning the ethics principle of ___ are present when people debate about the human status of cloned persons.

• A. Beneficence
• B. Justice
• C. Autonomy
• D. Nonmaleficence

Answer: (C)

Autonomy is the principle at stake because it centers on respecting individuals as self-governing agents with the capacity to make their own choices and give or withhold consent. When people debate whether a cloned person is human, the core issue is whether that being should be regarded as a person with autonomous rights—such as the right to make medical decisions, to be free from coercion, and to have their own life choices respected. If a clone is recognized as a full person, autonomy requires that we treat them as capable of independent decision-making just like any other person. The other principles address different ethical concerns—beneficence focuses on promoting good, nonmaleficence on avoiding harm, and justice on fairness and distribution of benefits and burdens—but the question of whether a clone possesses moral status and autonomy is most directly about autonomy.

Autonomy is the principle at stake because it centers on respecting individuals as self-governing agents with the capacity to make their own choices and give or withhold consent. When people debate whether a cloned person is human, the core issue is whether that being should be regarded as a person with autonomous rights—such as the right to make medical decisions, to be free from coercion, and to have their own life choices respected. If a clone is recognized as a full person, autonomy requires that we treat them as capable of independent decision-making just like any other person. The other principles address different ethical concerns—beneficence focuses on promoting good, nonmaleficence on avoiding harm, and justice on fairness and distribution of benefits and burdens—but the question of whether a clone possesses moral status and autonomy is most directly about autonomy.