The GenetiCorp Convention (failed)
| Category: | Free Trade | Strength: | Strong | Proposed By: | The Global Market |
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WHEREAS
Cloning, a process that exists in nature in the form of identical twins is suddenly linked with reactionary fears of degrading respect for human individuality and violations of human rights, when humans discover that technology.
Yet how would one’s rights to her/his individuality best be served? By allowing the individual to decide whether or not she or he would like to be cloned? Or by passing on the responsibility for that decision to a state?
The right to decide whether or not you would be cloned is linked to that of the ownership of the individual over his or her own genetic code. Many Western societies are rushing towards a situation where those rights are massively being given up by the ‘moral majorities’ in those societies, to the state.
Note that the right not to be cloned is also among those rights.
Since future visions of a society with abominable human rights, are being also (over)used against cloning, let us present an alternative scenario.
When a theoretical human right for individuality, becomes a human duty for individuality, you can ask yourself this question: ‘What sort of a state would possibly seek benefit from the absolute need to identify individuals by their genetic codes?’
This is the kind of state that will violate your human rights.
This Convention defends the rights of the individual to ownership of, and therefore the (still theoretical) right to alter her or his genome, and more general his or her physical architecture.
People who push for laws against genetic modification technology do not realize they are interfering with those rights.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS HONORABLE UNITED NATIONS THAT
Article I
The United Nations shall issue a statement defending the ownership of the individual over his or her genome, and therefore the theoretical right to duplicate and/or alter it. If two people both possess the same genome, they will both have the right to duplicate and/or alter theirs.
Article II
All international laws specifically directed against the development of any form of biotechnology of a civilian nature are hereby abolished.
Article III
Individual governments shall reserve the right to restrict the research of biotechnology within their own nation, though scientists shall have the right to leave at any time they wish, except in cases of criminal activity, war, or imminent danger.
Article IV
No nation nor the United Nations shall restrict the free flow of scientific information of a civilian nature, so long as such flow does not violate standing property rights.
Article V
That cloned humans shall be accorded the same rights and as naturally born humans.
- Votes For: 5415
- Votes Against: 6992
- Voting Ended: Sat Oct 11 2003
