Do you think "Splicing" should be legal?

Another debate we had was if it should be publicized, and then made completely legal for the public to Splice their Genese with other animals.

Many types of religious fanatics are against it, because of similar type of reasoning for why they are against the theories of evolution ,cloning , and other stuff.

An example of what you could do with this type of splicing in particular, would be to mix your DNA and the DNA of some other animals, like Bats. If you did this, you could Select and Alter the Genese that make the bats have wings, and then you could adjust them to work on Humans through more engineering, so that you could produce a Human with Bat-like wings growing out of their back, Fangs, sonic screeches, the ears, and many other features.

They have been testing similar theories and methods onto animals, but most people have similar reservations torwards it as they do Cloning.

Personally, I think it would be extremely cool to get custom upgrades like wings,etc.

Oddly enough, this debate was from an Abnormal Psychology Class instead of a Political or Science Class

It's theoretical though...there is little hard evidence it'd actually work. Unlike when you cross breed animals of the same species...these are diffrent species from the ground up. It makes for fun experiments and Mad Scientist like stories...but like in the The Island of Doctor Moreau...something can and will go wrong. It's a part of science that mistakes and tragedies occur.

Plus most of this would have to be done before the person is born...that's the REAL moral question here...do parents have the right to modify thier kids based on their own tastes? That's closer to reality than say making your kid have bat wings or fangs...and far more dangerous.

After all...given the chance even the most hardened individual would want to give their kids every advantage in terms of body structure, health, looks, etc...while I wouldn't say that nothing but "pretty people" would be born...individuality would. Once you start determining what a person looks like from the ground up...you take something away from them...something that can really impact who they are as a person. We may ignore the reality of it but our looks to effect the kind of person we are to some degree.

Either way this is all pointless to debate legally...those with enough knowledge of geography can point to a few countries where the first clones, modified babies, and other black biology will come from in due time...my bet...Turkish Cyprus.

you make an exellent statement

In my opinion though, I dislike cloning entire people, but cloning replacement parts, new body type stuff ,etc is fine.

If you are creating a thinking, feeling being through cloning, then I dont really like that too much.

An example is that lady who cloned her cat 5 years after it died. Even though it has the identical body, structure, etc of that cat, it is NOT the same cat. It is a different cat completely, even if it is the same cat as before.

It also makes you wonder where she got the genetic material to make a clone, unless she dug up the corpse, which is still quite a rather distasteful task...in most cases

Oh yeah, the splicing they were refering to would be more along the lines that are closer to intentional mutations, as they wouldnt be put into new babies, but people that wished to modify themselves. It is extremely risky, but if that type were to work, that would be cool. But there might still be many problems with that.

That type is altering existing people, not making brand new people, for the most part.

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Originally Posted by BrightStar

An example is that lady who cloned her cat 5 years after it died. Even though it has the identical body, structure, etc of that cat, it is NOT the same cat. It is a different cat completely, even if it is the same cat as before.

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That's opinion though...scientificly it's the same cat...but since no real laws governing what an individual is or what a clone is exist...it's socially still up in the air.

Some say a clone is like a twin...that is false since twins unlike clones are not exact duplicates of each other from the gournd up. Anyone that knows a twin or is one...can attest to the fact their are diffrences between them and each are individuals...not each others shadow.

A clone is basicly a copy of YOU...and in that situation it's yet to be legally decided as to what rights it and you would have over it. Fun questions that by the looks of it we may live to see answered.

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After all...given the chance even the most hardened individual would want to give their kids every advantage in terms of body structure, health, looks, etc...while I wouldn't say that nothing but "pretty people" would be born...individuality would. Once you start determining what a person looks like from the ground up...you take something away from them...something that can really impact who they are as a person. We may ignore the reality of it but our looks to effect the kind of person we are to some degree.

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on the "pretty people topic I recomend the "Uglies" trilogy by Scott Westerfeld and the whole bio-enhancement issue would be covered in the "Maximum Ride" series of books. They are fiction but they got me thinking.

Personally I would like to have wings, just so I could fly off some where. That is my favorite non-sex based fantasy.

i'm totally against it.

Dr. Moreu...

on actual cloning, unless they take the chromosome early on in life you will have a shortened lifespan as the chromosomes have a small segment at the end which shortens after a period of time, sort of an age countdown.

this is the problem they had with Dolly.

the regenerative properties of arachnids does tempt.

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Originally Posted by VoltaireBlue

i'm totally against it.

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do you mean that you are against genetic splicing in principle or just the human-bat hybrids the OP discussed?

god i miss Brightstar threads those were the days lol

oh and if you were to splice a person with bat wings wouldnt come out his back since wings are a bats arms the person would be born with freaky arms. im not a scientist i just play one online

I'm all for experimentation and modification

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Originally Posted by episode allah

do you mean that you are against genetic splicing in principle or just the human-bat hybrids the OP discussed?

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I'm against it and also cloning in general. something about it strikes a very wrong chord with me.