From: Hal Finney (hal@rain.org)
Date: Thu Mar 06 1997 - 23:06:37 MST
The main issue which I find disturbing in cloning and similar proposals
is, what about the children produced? Who defends their interests, and to
what extent should I condone someone performing experiments which may lead
to children who suffer from brain damage or deformities? Apparently it
took > 100 tries to produce Dolly the sheep. I wouldn't be surprised
if they had some pretty messed-up lambs along the way.
The same issue arises with more conventional technology, like in vitro
fertilization, of course. I guess that's pretty reliable now. You can't
make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, so if we have to produce a
few scrambled babies before we get good at it, is that fine with everyone?
It's really not a self ownership issue, it's a question of child ownership.
I see this as a classic gray area; I would be much more willing to intervene
on behalf of another child being injured by his parent than to try to stop
a person from hurting himself.
Hal
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