Is Cloning 'Pro-Life'?

No. Cloning is not pro-life.

and if we are talking about stem cell cloning that leads to life saving cures, is that not pro-life?

The discussion is specifically centered on cloning an entire human being.

seems that the very word "cloning" seems to have many meanings, ie "human cloning" can just as easily mean cloning human stem cells as well as entire humans.

True, but if you read the article, it is clear that they are specifically referring to cloning for the purpose of creating a new person.

cloning as in the creation of another person, while a popular media topic is of relative no importance, yet the very idea of cloning as been so grievously misused that much of the science of research has been under attack by the Bush administration, church groups and right to lifers that the persons/facilities doing important life saving work are having to leave the US in order to continue their work.

To some perhaps, but it is clearly a very important issue for many, many people.

Stem cell research is at the same developmental point as gene mediated alteration in metabolic profiles. Neither technique has provided reproducible evidence that they are useable modalities in the treatment of
biochemical pathologies.

Cloning is no more "creation" than is colony formation by replicating bacterial cells.

An interesting statement, and written as one who apparently understands the status of this research better than most (certainly better than I).

Would you perhaps have some links with which I could further educate myself on this subject? Thanks in advance!

from the National Institute for Health:
Studies of human embryonic stem cells may yield information about the complex events that occur during human development. A primary goal of this work is to identify how undifferentiated stem cells become differentiated. Scientists know that turning genes on and off is central to this process. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are due to abnormal cell division and differentiation. A better understanding of the genetic and molecular controls of these processes may yield information about how such diseases arise and suggest new strategies for therapy. A significant hurdle to this use and most uses of stem cells is that scientists do not yet fully understand the signals that turn specific genes on and off to influence the differentiation of the stem cell.

Human stem cells could also be used to test new drugs. For example, new medications could be tested for safety on differentiated cells generated from human pluripotent cell lines. Other kinds of cell lines are already used in this way. Cancer cell lines, for example, are used to screen potential anti-tumor drugs. But, the availability of pluripotent stem cells would allow drug testing in a wider range of cell types. However, to screen drugs effectively, the conditions must be identical when comparing different drugs. Therefore, scientists will have to be able to precisely control the differentiation of stem cells into the specific cell type on which drugs will be tested. Current knowledge of the signals controlling differentiation fall well short of being able to mimic these conditions precisely to consistently have identical differentiated cells for each drug being tested.

Perhaps the most important potential application of human stem cells is the generation of cells and tissues that could be used for cell-based therapies. Today, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace ailing or destroyed tissue, but the need for transplantable tissues and organs far outweighs the available supply. Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.