NOTE: i wrote this paer last year for my advanced world literature class; it was inreflection to the book "Frankenstien".
The biggest technological breakthrough in the history of mankind has taken place; people are cheering in the streets al over the world. While a woman enters a clinic where she and her husband along with a physician have been planning every detail of their child for the last two months will be “born”. Humanity’s obsession with bettering themselves with cell phones, artificially inseminated births, inducing labor to prevent further weight gain, vaccines for diseases and unnecessary testing, has already and will eventually lead to selection on certain genes and an entirely different kind of genocide. Through technological advancements such as cloning, genetic manipulation, and selection these serve as the ground work for the branches that will be the downfall of humanity.
The Commercial in Cloning:
Various organizations and society itself are trying to use cloning as a means of making massive profit. The pharmaceuticals love the idea of cloning; they could create the clone or exact fragments they need and it would have the same blood type, which would make it easier to do blood transfusions especially for those with rare blood types (Genetic Engineering2). This would make people live longer, which would lead to an all time high purchase of cosmetic surgery packages. Imagine the world in which a customer could design the perfect nose, chin, even cheekbones to enhance the beauty that they believe will last forever. However, this is Orange County, Silicon Valley talk; the prices for these “upgrades” will be pricey, because after all it is a business. So, one can only conclude that only the rich and famous will afford this or those folk who are foolish enough to spend what little money they have on cosmetic surgery. “ It needs to be kept in mind that if the practice became wide spread human eggs would be in demand and greater pressure would be placed upon their commercialization leading to sale for profit”(Pike1). So, it could be supposed that woman would either be one of two things: one, their value would increase and they will be praised as women want to be, or be even further unvalued and in some way put as slaves or “cash crops” of the sexist America and then, soon the world. However, it could happen in third world nations first due to their already low respect and treatment of women.
Ethics:
In many circles it is said that cloning will lead to a further and more biological extent of discrimination. Clones are in a more literal way ”copies” of a human biologically; however religiously speaking many say that if a “person” is not born then they are not human.(CloningEthics-ABiblicalView1). Therefore, they can not be included in the human race, and if this is the case, then would not it be impossible to have slavery come back into society. Human rights are for those who are considered human. If the “person” is not considered human. The natural rights are not “born” to them of course it is expected to have advocates of those who are not considered humans; as can be also expected, laws will be slow to establish if any are at all.
As technological advancements come forward it will also fast ward man’s extinction. Cloning is creating and or exacerbating already dire predicaments, such as the artificiality and vanity that is already running rapid around the world, the environment, which has been recently has been advocated so fervently due to new additions to the endangered species list. Tensions would continue to rise in the circles of religious affiliations and moral virtues because of whether or not clones are human; also the tensions of preexisting racism. With the success of cloning, this breakthrough breathes life and branches out to another phenomenon-----genetic manipulation.
Genetics:
Perfect offspring-----a fantasy of the parental mind; of course this is not only a parents dream. Little children, while playing with their dolls or action figures describe the characteristics they desire for their future wee ones. Matter of fact, today’s world has made it possible for people to do just that. As started in the continuation of commercialization in Cloning, news of utilizing the genes of the talented and “desirable” to create perfect children has lead to the conduction of genetic manipulation and ultimately selection.
History of Genetics:
Through history men and women have done odd ball procedures to get the desired sex of their child. “In the 18th century in Greece, men would lie on their right side during sex to guarantee a boy; on a contrary, in France the men would lie on their left for the same result. The German people put a hammer under their mattress if they wanted a boy and the Danish people placed a pair of scissors under their bed to produce a girl” (Genetic Engineering1).
A Vision of Making Babies: Designing Offspring
“What are the moral objectives to design offspring that are most useful in initiating public conversation?”(McGee2). In a world in which people pay thousands of dollars and collectively billions to perfect “imperfections”. The idea of making the being perfect from the day it is “born” would save that individual money in the future.
Vision of Making Babies: the Selection of it All
“Pediatric care of young children has similarly advanced dramatically, so that in the 20th century a physician can define the “normal” child in terms of some more or les fulsome body of epidemiological data about whether a particular child s’ traits that are typical of the last 100,000 or so children seen by the physician”(McGee2). As in the movie “300”, it was tradition that all the newborn sons are inspected for weakness to see whether or not the child was fit. If the child was misshapen or has signs of deficiency; the boy would be discarded, thrown down a cliff where others lie and left if not already dead to die). Man will soon be able to define a “normal” child, which can only leave one to think about those children who are considered not within the “norm”. Where shall they be? Discarded or released? As in the dystopian society within The Giver. Would this not be an example of extreme discrimination against those with disabilities or disabilities as society describes them as? How would the government rewrite this in law? Considering the fact that there are laws against the discrimination of disability and since there is no clear defined idea of what is actually “normal”; besides, what society has mapped out as the average behaviors that have come to be acceptable. Would this not be genocide?
“Cloning is the technological of narcissism and nothing satisfies narcissism like immortality. Self-love is deeply gratified by the prospect of living forever, even as a clone” (Pike1). Genetic manipulation is the process to move closer to creating the Superman and selection, the glorification of vanity and superficiality. While unconsciously destroying future generations with immoral and vain behavior and ideology. Through cloning, genetic manipulation and selection mankind will bring itself to an inevitable end.
Work Cited
CloningEthics-ABiblicalView.http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/cloning-ethics.htm
GeneticEngineering.http://www.onlineessays.com/essays/tech/tech01.php
Geneticengineering.EngineeringonHumans.http.//www.aurora.komvux.nonsmoking.se/hetland/evir/facts.htm
Genetic Manipulation. http://www.cogforlife.org/cloning.htm
Henig,Robin Marantz.Pandoras’ baby: how the first test babies sparked the reproductive.Boston:Houghton Mufflin;2004.
Mahowald, May B. Reproductive Genetics and Gender Justice, 8 Nov 2002.Published in Women and Prenatal Testing: Facing the Challenges of Genetic Technology Coumbus: Ohio State University Press, 1994,67-87. 12 April 2008.http://www.bioethics.net
McGee, Glenn.Ehtical Issues in Genetics in the Next 100 years.8 Nov 2002.12 Apr 2008.http.//www.bioethics.net
Pike, Gregory K. www.bioehtics.org.au/docs/
Stock, Gregory. RedesigningHumans:Our Inevitable Genetic Future.Boston:Houghton Mufflin, 2002.
ThePerfectChild:http://www.megaessays.com/essay_search/idea_designing_children.html
Kahane, David. “300 Shocker: Hollywood takes a detour to reality.” National Review Online April 2007.
Lowry,Louis. The Giver.1993.Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 1003.
