From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Mon Nov 26 2001 - 23:50:43 MST
From: "Anders Sandberg" <asa@nada.kth.se>
> They are against cloning, IVF and
> abortion because they are sides of the same big concept: humans
> controlling human reproduction. To the religious, this throws out God
> from the circuit, to the green it throws out the wisdom of nature and to
> the general romantic it suggests that we put our reason and planning
> above the natural. That is the core value ideas that underly the
> resistance; while some who share these values may also be strategic
> thinkers, most opponents simply argue against cloning because they think
> it is wrong.
In addition to the church, the greens, and the romantics, the state opposes it
because cloning would complicate the business of ruling citizens, who may
accomplish some interesting tricks via impersonating each other. If
fingerprints can be swapped with synthetic grafts molded from imprints of
another's fingers, this would remove the last obstacle to replicating
identities that unique fingerprints comprise. A clone could then assume the
legal and professional identity of its parent, either as a twin, or as a
descendent. Plus, crafty parents could transfer their indentity to
children/clones, again and again, thus establishing identity dynasties which
could circumvent statutory limitations and wreak all sorts of havoc.
Essentially, this could make an individual identity immortal, like a
corporation, which continues forever with new bodies assuming the same
identity. Call it the Perennial Clone Syndrome: perpetual entitlements and
ownership (which would make Strom Thurmond's career seem short). Also, the
state does not cherish the notion of a single identity being in more than one
place at one time, nor the possibility that several identical people could get
away with paying taxes as one individual. For example, if a billionaire had
several clones instead of children, the money would not need to be transferred
to separate clone/children accounts, since they could access the money as if
they were all the same billionaire.
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