Forum
Human Cloning Foundation Hails British Scientists
Paralyzed
Walk Again
Childless Couples
Essays
The Benefits of
Human Cloning
All the Reasons to
Clone Human Beings
The Top Ten Myths
about Human Cloning
Human Cloning is the Cure for Infertility
Infertility is
a Disease
Books
People
Reports
Archives
Feedback
Donate
Links
Website Links
About Us
Contact Us
Site history
Site Map
Past Books of the Month
John Kunich's Books
Copyright
Illegal Beings: Human Clones
The Principle of Self Ownership
libfemme ( 05/11/2004, 12:53:43 )If the principle of self ownership means an individual owns his or her own body, then it must also means he owns the very cells of that body. He, and he alone can use those cells, grow them, alter them, remove them, reimplant them as he chooses. It's your body after all.Self ownership is a principle from the second treatis of John Locke, the English philosopher who provided the justification for the British establishing Parlamentary rule over King, as well as that of the American Revolution that followed directly a hundred years later. It is quintessentially American to believe in the principle of self ownership. One would like it would no longer be necessary to defend it. But not every one agrees. The competiting philsophy which John Locke was opposing was the Divine Right of Kings. That is the same argument behind those who oppose cloning, although the adherents would never acknowledge it. Let me show you the route....It all starts with the Bible. Matt 16:17-18 suggests that Christ gave leadership of his church on Earth to his Apostle Simon. And, Catholic tradition says that Simon, now called St Peter, was the first Pope of Rome, therefore the Roman Catholic Church is the one true church. And, if that is true, to oppose that institution is to oppose God. Secondly, kings, have been traditionally anointed by Bishops. That is essentially what a coronation is. A Witan or a Parlement, a Counsel of Elders, may choose the next King, just as a man may propose to a bride, but it is still the Church that seals the bargain. And if it's sealed by the Church, then it must be Divine Right.Even when the English King's gave up recognizing the Pope as head of the church, they didn't give up claiming they were sanctified by God to rule. Protestant reformers overthrew the rule of the Pope in their religious life, and the rule of the English King in their political life. But they never embraced the spirit of the Principle of Self Ownership.Divine Right has merely shifted to the literal word of the Bible, as interpreted by the bible-holder of the moment. Fundamentalist Christians, like their most Catholic cousins, claim God owns each of us, owns our bodies, and hence we do not have the free use of them. All admonishments against sexual acts between consenting adults,many medical procedures which have been initially opposed when first introduced such as pain killers during child birth, etc. all stem from the premise that one does not own oneself.But if one does not own ones self, then one is owned by another. And that has a name, slavery.If you believe in freedom, if you believe in democracy, if you believe in the dignity of the individual to self ownership, then you cannot oppose or hinder what an individual chooses to do with the cells of his body. There is nothing more fundamental, more basic, more personal than a person's own body. The way people naturally repair worn out cells, functional healthily, etc. is by the natural cloning of cells in their body. There is no moral difference between your hand and your spleen. If you take your own cells, by hand, put them in a petri dish, alter them and reimplant them into your body again it is morally indistinguishable from your bone marrow cloning a stem cell and inducing it to turn into a blood cell. Your body replaces a blood cell every 120 days. If you stop cloning. You will die. What you do now, naturally, inside your body, you have a right to do, in a petri dish outside your body.You have a right to use your cells as you choose and that is all the justification you need.
This Message is being posted for educational purposes, as well as for comment and criticism, by the visitors to the HumanCloning.org Foundation website (www.HumanCloning.org ).
Disclaimer: Information provided on this web site is for educatonal purposes only. It is not a substitute for, nor can it replace advice from your own physician.
HumanCloning.org™ Established December 11, 2002.
Who's Afraid of Human Cloning?
Disease Prevention and Treatment