RE: virus: RE: real news
TheHermit (CarlW@lisco.com)
Fri, 18 Dec 1998 14:31:43 -0600
I am guessing that this whole argument will soon be moot anyway. From a
technological perspective, if clones are needed for harvesting (seen below),
it would be quite simple to splice in the genetic condition that causes
hydro-encephalitis (no brain develops) or even ancephelitus (no head
develops), into any clone, so as to prevent the clone from having any
thinking capacity from day one. This would remove the ethical and moral
obligations that clones developed for the purpose of harvesting seem to
imply.
On the other hand, why grow full clones when all that is needed is parts? We
can already grow some body parts in vitro (e.g. liver tissue), and it seems
likely that we will soon be in a position where we can grow specialized
organs using a combination of genetic techniques and insertion of the
resulting pre-organ into animal fetuses. This could be much faster and more
cost effective than cloning humans, never mind resolving the ethical issues
much more elegantly than currently seems the case.
TheHermit