Current State Laws on Human Cloning
California
Cal. Health & Safety Code, §§24185 to 24189.
Bans efforts to create a human being by utilizing somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of, or to implant, the resulting product to initiate a pregnancy that could result in the birth of a human being." Ban is to expire January 1, 2003 unless extended by legislature.
Louisiana
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 40 §§1299.36 to 1299.36.6.
Forbids any person to "clone or attempt to clone a human being," and forbids a health facility or agency to "allow any individual to clone or attempt to clone a human being in a facility owned or operated by the health facility or agency." "Clone" is defined as in California law, to involve an intent to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate state law prohibits intentionally destroying a viable fertilized ovum, and requires that "[n]o in vitro fertilized human ovum will be farmed or cultured solely for research purposes or any other purposes." La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, §§ 129, 122. Whether this prohibits use of cloned embryos for research depends on how courts will interpret the phrase "fertilized human ovum."
Michigan
Mich. Comp. Laws §§333.16274, 333.16275, 750.430a.
Forbids any individual to "engage in or attempt to engage in human cloning," applying civil penalties (up to a $10 million fine) and criminal penalties ($10 million fine and up to ten years in prison). "Human cloning" means "the use of human somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to produce a human embryo." §333.16274(5). This law clearly forbids creating a cloned human embryo for any purpose, including research. A separate state law also forbids using a live human embryo "for nontherapeutic research if... the research substantially jeopardizes the life or health of the embryo..." Performing such research is a felony. §§333.2685 (1), 333.2691.
Rhode Island
R.I. Gen. Laws §23-16.4-2 to 23-16.4-4.
Bans use of somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of initiating or attempting to initiate a human pregnancy," as well as the creation of "genetically identical human beings" by "dividing a blastocyst, zygote, or embryo." The law seems to ban cloning by nuclear transfer only if done to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate law prohibits the use of "any live human fetus, whether before or after expulsion from its mother's womb, for scientific, laboratory research, or other kind of experimentation.
On January 1, 2004, over one thousand people in the mountain hamlet of Oventic, Chiapas, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) rebellion with song and dance. Thus, it seems a fitting time to take stock of the successes and failures of the Zapatista movement in the context of its original goals. While the EZLN has been able to establish thirty eight autonomous indigenous communities in Chiapas, it has failed to weaken the Mexican government's commitment to neo-liberal economic policies. In the following pages, we will explore those factors which enabled the Zapatistas to establish regions of autonomy and extrapolate from Theotonio Dos Santos' understanding of the effects of reliance on foreign capital and Nora Hamilton's analysis of the 'limits to state autonomy' to rationalize the failure of the Zapatista's broader vision of social justice.
When Mexico entered the international economy, it opened itself to global scrutiny. Mexico’s trading partners have kept an eye on Mexico’s human rights record. Mexico simply could not crush the Zapatista rebellion with an iron fist: “Mexicans and the international community will not accept a genocidal war in Chiapas” (Collier 167). Furthermore, global connections empowered Mexican human rights organizations to exert more leverage on the Mexican government to moderate their repression. The Zapatistas were particularly adept at using the internet to voice their demands and to protest the excesses of the Mexican government.
Poetry stands beyond agreement or disagreement and reinforce all ideas of mysteriousness (671). In “Lady Lazarus”, the story of Plath’s life with her tendency of self-destruction sheds light the meaning of the poem. A poem can be a reflection of the writer’s life; to understand the particular poem better, a study about the writer background helps to construct the subliminal meaning within the lines. Plath reconstructs the meaning of being a survivor from destruction, as she sustains the trauma of life that causes her to be suicidal. “Although “Lady Lazarus” draws on Plath’s won suicide attempt, the poem tells us little of the actual event. It is not a personal confession, but it does reveal Plath’s understanding of the way the suicidal person thinks.” (Dickie). The courageous endeavor to survive proves that the death is no longer terrifying. “Peel off the napkin/O my enemy./D I terrify?---“. On the contrary, the character in the poem, Lady Lazarus comes out to the light and challenges to whoever the enemy is, by saying, “I am you opus,/I am your valuable,/The pure gold baby”. She addresses how worthy she is as a human being, and she is revived and stronger than
College student drunkenness is far from new and neither are college and university efforts to control it. What is new, however, is the potential to make real progress on this age-old problem based on scientific research results. New research-based information about the consequences of high-risk college drinking and how to reduce it can empower colleges and universities, communities, and other interested organizations to take effective action. Hazardous drinking among college students is a widespread problem that occurs on campuses of all sizes and geographic locations. A recent survey of college students conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reported that 44 percent of respondents had drunk more than five drinks (four for women) consecutively in the previous two weeks. About 23 percent had had three or more such episodes during that time. The causes of this problem are the fact that students are living by themselves no longer with parents or guardians; they earn their own money; students need to be a part of a group, be accepted; and they have the wrong idea that to feel drunk is “cool.”
Why do college students drink so much? This timeless fad has effected this generation in high percentages since the beginning of college education. Today in America it is estimated that approximately 29% of college students are regular alcohol abusers. Another recent study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism performed showed that college students suffered 1,400 deaths, 70,000 date rapes and assaults, and 500,000 injuries each year as a result of alcohol. (McDonald) Although binge drinking (5+ drinks in one sitting) is considered a normal part of the college experience many factors contribute to whether or not an individual is more prone to be an abuser.
Recognized as one of the classical Greek Athenian philosophers who founded Western philosophy, Socrates was a mysterious figure known essentially through the accounts of later classical writers, especially from writings of his students Xenophon and the most popular Plato. Through Plato’s dialogues, Socrates has been portrayed and renowned for his involvement in the field of moral principles, and by this the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic Method had come about. With Socrates’ pedagogy, a series of questions can be asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to persuade deep-seated insights into the real issues at hand. His result remains a frequently used tool in a broad series of discussions.
The matter of human reproductive cloning is a complex topic, in which there are many issues that must be addressed before any actions take place. Any decision based on reproductive cloning will not be clear-cut, and instead will host a multitude of ideas. In this paper, I will determine, through philosophical thinking, if human reproductive cloning is morally appropriate.
Cloning is, and always has been an extremely contentious topic. To some, the ethical complications surrounding it, are far more promiscuous than what scientists and medical experts currently acknowledge. Cloning is a general term that refers to the process in which an organism, or discrete cells and genes, undergo genetic duplication, in order to produce an identical copy of the original biological matter. There are two main types of artificial cloning; reproductive and therapeutic, both of which present their respective benefits and constraints. This essay aims to discuss the various differences between the two processes, as well as the ethical issues associated with it.
Cloning (asexual reproduction) is the production of individuals who are genetically identical to an already existing individual. The procedure is called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Scientists take a mature, unfertilized egg and remove its nucleus. Next, they, introduce a nucleus obtained from a specialized (somatic) cell of an adult organism. Once the egg begins to divide, they transfer the embryo into woman's uterus to initiate a pregnancy. Since almost all the hereditary material of a cell is contained within its nucleus, the re-nucleated eggs are genetically identical to the organism that was the source of the transferred nucleus (Kass, 2001). The genetically identical individual is called the clone and could be produced by nuclear transfer. Any person, living or deceased could be cloned, and in any number. Due to the fact that cloning requires no personal involvement on the part of the person whose genetic material is used, cloning could be completed without a person’s consent. This would be a threat to reproductive freedom, according to Kass.
One of the main reasons students feel the need to binge drink is peer pressure. They do this because their peers are doing it and they want to fit in better. College dorm rooms offer many different places for students to drink. Dorm rooms give a great place for a few people to get together, and before you know it “everybody’s doing it”.
Binge or excessive drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, health, and education on college campuses today. Binge or excessive drinking by college students has become a social phenomena in which college students do not acknowledge the health risks that are involved with their excessive drinking habits. Furthermore college students do not know enough about alcohol in general and what exactly it does to the body or they do not pay attention to the information given to them. There needs to be a complete saturation on the campus and surrounding areas, including businesses and the media, expressing how excessive drinking is not attractive and not socially accepted.
Can you imagine a world where everyone looked the same and had the same DNA? This could become true due to the advances in science in the field of cloning. We are coming into an age where scientists have started cloning non-human mammals as well as fish. Soon, they will want to start cloning humans. Since human cloning is so dangerous, unethical, and too expensive for reproductive purposes, it should be illegal.
Sex education in schools has been a long debated subject among parents, teachers, government officials and students. The need for sex education has increased due the higher numbers of teen pregnancy and STD cases among school age kids. The pregnancy rate has more than doubled and teens have the highest rate of STD cases among all of the age groups (DeCarlo 1). The major questions are the type of material that should be discussed and whether the programs are actually helping the problem or adding to it. There are a lot of other questions that branch off from the major ones also. Since sex education has already been around for decades, it is very necessary for us to determine the effects of the educational programs over the years. This will help us to verify the quality of lessons being taught in the classes.
Sex education in our schools has been a hot topic of debate for decades. The main point in question has been whether to utilize comprehensive sex education or abstinence-only curriculum to educate our youth. The popularity of abstinence-only curriculum over the last couple of decades has grown largely due to the United States government passing a law to give funding to states that teach the abstinence-only approach to sex education. But not teaching our children about sex and sexuality is not giving them the information they need to make well educated decisions. Sex education in our schools should teach more than just abstinence-only because these programs are not proven to prevent teens from having sex. Children need to be educated on how to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and be given the knowledge to understand the changes to their bodies during puberty. According to the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-12th Grade from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), comprehensive sex education “should be appropriate to age, developmental level, and cultural background of students and respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community” (SIECUS).
Human Cloning refers to creating a genetically identical copy of an organism including its DNA. It incorporates with Asexual Reproduction tricking a somatic cell into reproducing into an embryo, which later transforms into a human clone. The ethics of cloning is an extremely controversial issue. Many disagree because of their religious manner and considering it “playing with god” while others debate it is a good idea because it assists woman who are infertile with a blessing of children. However, Human Cloning should be illegal because of its health risks, loss of gene diversity and the divisive issue; playing with God.