Which statement about cloning issues is accurate?

• A. Zero risk of birth defects.
• B. Clones would have the same rights as the donor.
• C. It is completely natural.
• D. High rates of serious birth defects.

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is that cloning carries meaningful biological risks, not zero risk or naturalness. In cloning, especially reproductive cloning in animals, there’s a higher incidence of developmental problems, birth defects, and health issues in clones compared with naturally conceived offspring. This isn’t just about occasional problems; across many cloning studies, problems like congenital abnormalities, growth disorders, and early mortality have been observed, and some cloned animals don’t survive or develop normally. That explains why saying there’s zero risk is inaccurate, and why cloning isn’t described as completely natural—it's a laboratory process with unique biological challenges.

Rights and legal status of a clone are separate questions from the scientific risks of cloning, so that claim isn’t about the cloning process itself. Putting these points together, the statement that cloning is associated with high rates of serious birth defects best reflects what is known about cloning issues. For context, famous cloning cases like Dolly the sheep highlighted health problems later in life, illustrating these broader concerns about the biological viability of clones.