From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Wed Jan 24 2001 - 14:16:49 MST
From: Samantha Atkins <samantha@objectent.com>
>> Okay, I'll play. Obviously I think raising and harvesting
>> engineered disencephalatic clones is going to be a slightly more
>> difficult proposition than planting weed seeds in dirt.
>Do you think that it is actually desirable or preferable that the
>nation/state will decide which technologies you can and can't use
>in your attempts to continue to live and advance? Or merely
>inevitable?
Inevitable, but we are not without influence.
>If you think that it is not preferable then by what means or what
>do you propose to escape being limited by the votes of the
>majority or the edict of this or that politician in these matters?
I think by being aware of the general public's reaction to things,
and avoiding the most dramatic (microencephalic parts clones) while
emphasizing the positive aspects of the technology.
>Ethics involving clones and associated technology is an
>interesting topic. It short circuits it to say that the
>nation/state will decide and simply stop there.
I was not trying to short-circuit the discussion, in fact
(confession time) I was playing DA (devil's advocate) to a degree
to promote it. (blame my college philosophy prof)
Obviously a clone of a human being is also a human being, but there
are those who don't think so. The February WIRED once again
feature's cloning as it's cover story.
I'm concerned about people like the one lady in the article who has
preserved a few inches of her son's skin (he died in an accident)
with the hope of "bringing him back". I can see her naming a
potential clone the same name, attempting to recreate her missing
son, and being upset if it's not exactly alike.
I think enough children are misunderstood and abused in this world
without creating more.
These people need to understand the facts. No clone will even be
exactly alike genetically, and they most certainly will not have
the personnality of the original.
They will be people, not Xerox copies.
I think if this was better understood people would be less afraid.
I also worry that people who now insist on reliving their lives
vicariously through their children will see this (cloning) as an
even more likely possibility.
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
Adler Planetarium www.adlerplanetarium.org
Life Extension Foundation, www.lef.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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