Yesterday we discussed some topics that tend to bring up strong emotions in people. In the US, stem cell research has been a topic that has caused lots of arguments and has divided the religious right from science even further. The problem arises from what people define a person as- if you look at a ball of cells- no matter whether they are a pig, sheep, or human embryo- in the first stages- they all look the same. Scientists do experiments on these balls of cells called stem cells in order to save people; the embryos they want to use are going to be destroyed anyway since they are left over from in vitro fertilization attempts.
Cloning is another topic we covered and discussed. Cloning also brings up ideas of copies of people walking around, but actually, if you were to clone yourself today, the cloned person would still have to grow and develop just as you did. The clone would begin life as a baby. Cloning had been done on smaller animals but not on larger mammals until 1996, when Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned. In the US, the meat from cloned animals has been deemed safe to eat by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Another useful avenue for cloning relates to stem cells, and the growing of organs or body parts for human use.
We touched on the movie Gattica and the idea of genetically engineering a ‘perfect’ human; the idea of selecting characteristics that would strengthen a person and removing characteristics that would weaken them. In effect, creating a race of super-humans, who would be smarter, faster, stronger, more beautiful, more perfect in every way. Many thought it would be a boring place if everyone were perfect. 
Transgenics and genetically modified (GM) food also was on the plate last night. The current use of many GM food products has caused alarm among those who believe that these foods might not be healthy. The EU has recently made it mandatory to list on the nutrition label any GM food or food product used.
Lastly we discussed euthanasia, or mercy killing. Many agreed that a body with no brain is not much of a life and that the quality of life should be considered in making decisions about aiding people in dying. People in permanent (persistent) vegetative states (PVS) should not be allowed to
continue living since that person has no dignity. Though many agreed that euthanasia should be allowed, it seemed that given a personal case most would still feel sad at the loss of that person. Premature babies also were discussed and the problem of letting a baby die that was premature, versus letting it die. The chances of a premature baby living normally are very small- most preemies end up with serious mental problems, vision and hearing problems, balance problems, and cerebral palsy. Again, should tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars be spent saving a life that is almost 66% guaranteed to be a life of misery and sadness? I don’t think so. That money is better spent on those who can benefit from it.
Cloning is another topic we covered and discussed. Cloning also brings up ideas of copies of people walking around, but actually, if you were to clone yourself today, the cloned person would still have to grow and develop just as you did. The clone would begin life as a baby. Cloning had been done on smaller animals but not on larger mammals until 1996, when Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned. In the US, the meat from cloned animals has been deemed safe to eat by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Another useful avenue for cloning relates to stem cells, and the growing of organs or body parts for human use.
We touched on the movie Gattica and the idea of genetically engineering a ‘perfect’ human; the idea of selecting characteristics that would strengthen a person and removing characteristics that would weaken them. In effect, creating a race of super-humans, who would be smarter, faster, stronger, more beautiful, more perfect in every way. Many thought it would be a boring place if everyone were perfect. 
Transgenics and genetically modified (GM) food also was on the plate last night. The current use of many GM food products has caused alarm among those who believe that these foods might not be healthy. The EU has recently made it mandatory to list on the nutrition label any GM food or food product used.
Lastly we discussed euthanasia, or mercy killing. Many agreed that a body with no brain is not much of a life and that the quality of life should be considered in making decisions about aiding people in dying. People in permanent (persistent) vegetative states (PVS) should not be allowed to
continue living since that person has no dignity. Though many agreed that euthanasia should be allowed, it seemed that given a personal case most would still feel sad at the loss of that person. Premature babies also were discussed and the problem of letting a baby die that was premature, versus letting it die. The chances of a premature baby living normally are very small- most preemies end up with serious mental problems, vision and hearing problems, balance problems, and cerebral palsy. Again, should tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars be spent saving a life that is almost 66% guaranteed to be a life of misery and sadness? I don’t think so. That money is better spent on those who can benefit from it. 
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