Re: Gene Therapy & Ethics [was Re: AI Backlash]

Patrick Wilken (patrickw@cs.monash.edu.au)
Thu, 12 Aug 1999 23:43:05 +1000

Isn't the libertarian approach to allow parents to do what they want and take personal responsibility to blast them if they go too far? We already grant parents the right to screw up their childrens lives in the most basic way. Anyone sending their kids to school in Kansas?

If you believe people have the right to raise their own kids then we should let them give them the best genetic start in life. When parents start doing things that are terrible for the child I see no problem in stepping in a removing the parent (if someone starts fucking with their kids next door I see it as my libertarian right to go and do what I can to stop it). Of course what is one person's blessing is another's poison: "Gee. I thought those gills [wings, insert favourite additional appendage] would be so cool for little Robin."

ciao, patrick



Patrick Wilken
Editor:        PSYCHE: An International Journal of Research on Consciousness
Board Member:      The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/                 http://www.phil.vt.edu/ASSC/