They just re-ran the Ent episode where Trip gets cloned. Clones have been done to death, yes. But this episode felt very different, at least at the beginning. It dealt with a fairly contemporary genetic quandry: harvesting cloned material for transplant purposes. In Science fact, this may or may not be such a big deal morally. Cloning a liver will never be the same as cloning an entire person. But Sci-fi adds a different conotation, as shown in this episode. The issue seemed fairly clear; this was merely a collection of alien cells taken from an organism that had its own separate existence, with nothing to do with cloning. But when brought in mixture with Trip's cells, a side effect occured that caused that alien matter to completely mimic Trip. And the clone produced would live a normal life cycle of 15 days, growing from childhood to old age in that time.
Why not harvest it for transplant material? It's not like they were interfereing with its normal life cycle...
But that wasn't what made me perk up. it was Phlox's reaction to the concept. His distaste for it balanced against the need imposed by the impending threat of the Xindi. An otherwise ethical man being forced to put aside those ethics.
The question raised by this episode was not so much one about the ethics of cloning, but rather one of extreme sacrifice vs.extreme necessity.
Reminds me of a story a buddy in the Army once told me about something they called "the Iron Goat." I asked him what the hell he was talking about, and he responded, with a bitter chuckle, "In peacetime, how do you think army surgeons gain experience treating gunshot wounds?"
I'll leave you to work out the connection. But while he may have been pulling my leg about it (which is possible) it raises a question which pits morality versus practicality. Interesting thing to explore in fiction. While the rest of the episode was fairly blah, Phlox's reaction made it worthwhile. Billingsly (I think that's his name) is a great actor IMHO.
Strictly Speaking
"When you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha."