Reply #43: The only way this could even possibly be ethical...

[liberalpragmatist]

... would be if the Neanderthal were allowed to be raised as a human being -- in a family, with his/her identity concealed.

And even then, there are huge ethical and moral concerns. As mentioned above, you would basically be creating a human being purely for research purposes -- and even if that neanderthal were raised anonymously as a normal person, it would still be a very gray area ethically.

Moreover, there are practical considerations. For one thing, if you were to conceal their identity, how could you maintain secrecy? Doctors, perhaps teachers -- lots of people would eventually need to know that Johnny's a little "special."

You would also be exposing the neanderthal kid to a completely foreign world. Who knows if the neanderthal would be susceptible to all kinds of pathogens or diseases that nobody today is susceptible to? How do we know his/her body will respond to the same kinds of treatments as us?

On top of all that, there's still the fact that cloning is still in its infancy. There could be enormous developmental defects with a cloned neanderthal.

All in all, it's an idea that sounds cool, until you really unpack it.