human cloning

[miriam_e]

You know, I can't figure out what the big deal is about human cloning. People get their knickers in such a knot about it, but every identical twin on the planet is a clone. It is not like it is unnatural.

"But," those shiny-eyed, anti-cloning fanatics rush to tell me (like it matters) "there will be awful hitler-like people who clone themselves."

Really? I wonder. And some feeble law is going to stop some uber-wealthy nutcase? Like it has stopped so many other things, yeah?

"But," they breathlessly press on, "it would be a travesty of human rights to have these clones raised to be..."

...to be wealthy, powerful people? Oh the poor dears. My heart bleeds for them.
Why the hell are people worried about cloning when there are children starving all over the world?
Are people fucking nuts or something?!?!

Comments

[jrosestar.livejournal.com]

On one hand I don't have a problem with cloning because - as you say, it's really just another way of creating life. (giving birth?)

But on the other hand the conspiracy theorist in me can't help but fear that someone somewhere will create large farms of clones that live out their lives in peacefulness, like livestock - until an organ is needed for the original person.

Or we finally manage to do brain transplant surgery and the soul/memories/mind go with the brain - you could keep replenishing yourself - but you are taking away the life force of that person.

And, if I looked at it from a Faith based ideology - one has to wonder at what point is a new soul created - or when a body accepts a soul (for those of us who believe in reincarnation)...would a human clone have a soul? On the other hand - would a human clone need a soul?

Personally, I get fascinated by all the different possibilities.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Good point Jean. I'd forgotten about the organ farm aspect. I think it actually works the opposite way to how we'd normally expect.

Firstly, I doubt we will ever develop clone/organ farms. It will be cheaper, more effective, and more moral to grow stem cells. Making cloning illegal will not stop such farms if there is some "good" reason for them; they will simply stay underground. It also means that some people might be able to feel that clones are less than human, that they are unnatural, and have less rights. It seems obvious to me that they have full human rights, like identical twins do.

Hmmm... I feel a story coming on...

One danger of not allowing research on stem cells or growing organs is the future foreseen by Larry Niven in his stories where the world's poor are prey to kidnapping and murder by the wealthy classes for their organs.

I won't get into the soul as I think the concept is fairly easily disposed of by things like split brain surgery (thankfully no longer performed) where two individuals suddenly end up existing inside the same skull, and various other arguments I recount in my little piece at http://werple.net.au/~miriam/soulless.html (which I must rewrite for more clarity).