[extropy-chat] Cloning and the Constitution

Kevin Freels megaquark at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 29 20:55:53 UTC 2004


Unless the questin becomes: "Is cloning myself a matter of self-expression
since I am simply copying myself?"

This may sound like a silly question since the answer is obvious to anyone
who puts real thought into it. Unfortunnately there are many who don't.
Maybe it is time to pass a law recognizing a clone as an independent
individual.







----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Damien Broderick" <thespike at satx.rr.com>
To: "ExI chat list" <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Cloning and the Constitution


> At 12:51 PM 9/29/2004 -0700, Kurt Schoedel wrote:
>
> >The first amendment specifically states that freedom of expression is
> >protected. Congress cannot make any law that limits self-expression,
> >unless public safety (cannot yell "bomb" in a crowded cinema) or public
> >welfare (reason for laws against "abusive" drugs such as cocaine and
> >heroin) is at stake. Morphological changes to ones body (cosmetic,
> >functional enhancement) is certainly a form of self-expression.
>
> I don't know whether the thread header has any bearing on this opinion,
but
> if it does the opinion seems plainly wrong. Reproductive cloning involves
a
> child's body (and probably the child's mind, given the social
> consequences). Enhancing oneself is a separate issue (or tissue), surely.
>
> >Since
> >the kind of enhancements that we want do not pose a threat to public
> >safety or create a "burden" on society (in fact, they do quite the
> >opposite),
>
> But that's one of the issues where we don't yet know whether there's a
> threat to the newly cloned individual, although all the evidence suggests
> that there probably is, right now, given the limitations of current
> scientific knowledge.
>
> Now if someone tries to argue that cloning is a terrible sin because it
> violates the biblical prohibition against seething a kid in its mother's
> milk, or something along those lines, we'd have a better basis for
reasoned
> argument.
>
> Damien Broderick
>
>
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