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Welcome to the
Techno-Eugenics Email List
Number 2
October 4, 1999
Supporting genetic science in the public interest
Opposing the new techno-eugenics
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This is the second issue of the Techno-Eugenics Email List
newsletter. As far as we know, it's the only on-line newsletter
focused on the politics of the new human genetic and reproductive
technologies.
If you're receiving this newsletter for the first time, please
see the instructions for subscribing and submitting items at the
end of this message.
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"Humans have long since possessed the tools for
crafting a
better world. Where love, compassion, altruism and justice
have failed, genetic manipulation will not succeed."
Gina Maranto, "Quest for Perfection: The Drive to
Breed
Better Human Beings" (Scribner, 1996, page 278)
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CONTENTS
I. Workshop announcement: "Human Genetic Modification:
Understanding the Technologies, Assessing the Politics"
(UC Berkeley, Sunday, October 10)
II. "Asilomar 2" -- February 2000
III. An important cover story in the current Der Speigel:
"Hitler, Neitzsche, Dolly und der neue Philosophen-Streit:
Gen-Projekt Ubermensch"
IV. Recent developments promoting human techno-eugenics
V. Recent developments opposing techno-eugenics
VI. About the Techno-Eugenics Email List newsletter
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I. WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
"Human Genetic Modification: Understanding the Technologies,
Assessing the Politics"
To be held at UC Berkeley, Sunday, Oct. 10, 1:00-5:00 pm;
Sociology Commons, 402 Barrows Hall.
This important workshop will provide an overview of the new
human genetic technologies, the arguments advanced in favor
and against different applications, and the current political
context. The workshop is intended for those who are opposed
to germline engineering and human cloning, but who want to
discuss more specifically where and how the lines should be
drawn. For a detailed agenda, registration, and logistics
information, contact Richard Hayes, rhayes@socrates.berkeley.edu.
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II. ASILOMAR 2
Plans are now underway to convene "Asilomar 2" on
the 25th
anniversary of the first gathering.
At that February 1975 event, molecular biologists met at
Asilomar, California, and agreed to a voluntary moratorium
on recombinant DNA research until important safety questions
could be answered. Some observers hailed this as a courageous
act of scientific leadership. Others claimed it was a tactical
move designed to forestall public sector oversight and a deeper
socio-political critique.
The tone of the call for Asilomar 2 suggests that it may be
intended to help forestall public sector restrictions on human
germline manipulation and cloning. See these web sites:
www.the-scientist.library.upenn.edu/yr1999/apr/comm_990412.html
www.the-scientist.library.upenn.edu/yr1999/apr/russo_p11_990412.html
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III. DER SPIEGEL COVER STORY
"Hitler, Neitsche, Dolly and the new Philosophical Struggle:
Genetically Modified Superhumans."
The September 27, 1999 issue of Der Spiegel (issue 39) contains
the fullest recent account of the socio-politics of the new
techno-eugenics. The story highlights the German philosopher
Peter Sloterjidk, who has gained notoriety for arguing in favor
of using genetic engineering to create a new race of "improved"
human beings.
The article discusses the Princeton "smart mouse,"
the history
of eugenics in the U.S. and Germany, the Nobel Sperm Bank in
California, Gregory Stock of UCLA ("Es gibt keinen Weg, diese
Technik aufzuhalten"), Ian Wilmut, Lee Silver, Francis Fukuyama,
W. French Anderson, Martin Heidegger, the complicity of the
bioethics profession and more. It links growing support for a
techno-eugenic future with the perceived failure of Habermasean
social democratic humanism.
We would like to prepare a translation. Any volunteers?
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IV. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS PROMOTING TECHNO-EUGENICS
-- "Scientific American Presents: Your Bionic Future."
The current issue of the SciAm quarterly (on newsstands until
11/22)
includes upbeat articles on near-term possibilities for artificial
wombs, head transplants, cloning and genetically engineered children.
Editors Clenn Zorpette and Carol Ezzell say, "In the next
decade or
two, the flight from nature will soar to new heights. Those willing
to grasp the implications of the coming fusion of biology and
technology, with all its potential for beneficence and havoc,
will
find the exercise exhilarating" (page 3).
-- Two recent articles by key promoters of techno-eugenics
are
available on the web. Gregory Stock and John Campbell discuss
the
objections that they know will be made to designer babies and
human
clones, and suggest counter-arguments and technical fixes.
Here are some excerpts and the URLs:
"The Prospects for Human Germline Engineering," Gregory
Stock
www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/co/2621/1.htm
"[H]eritability would be an undesirable property for the
germline
modifications envisioned today...By the time recipients of even
the best engineered chromosome are ready to have children, it
will
be twenty or thirty years after they themselves were conceived.
Their once state-of-the-art artificial chromosome will be hopelessly
out-of-date, and they'll want to give their child the latest gene
cassettes and artificial chromosomes. It's not so different from
upgraded software; they'd want the new release."
"[H]uman cloning is most significant as a symbol: it has
served
notice that humanity is going to change more than the landscape
we inhabit; the powerful technologies we are developing are
reflecting back upon ourselves and will intrude into the most
private and intimate aspects of our lives."
"Human Germline Engineering: The Prospects for Commercial
Development," Gregory Stock and John Campbell
www.atp.nist.gov/atc/atc-18.htm
"The real question is not whether [cloning and germline
modification] will be applied to humans, but when, how, and to
what extent...[E]ven if illegal and morally opposed by most
people in most countries, they [will] become as uncontrollable
as euthanasia or abortion."
Stock and Campbell are also co-editors of a forthcoming book,
"Engineering the Human Germline: An Exploration of the Science
and Ethics of Altering the Genes We Pass to Our Children"
(Oxford University Press, 2000). It is expected to be out
in February. The book, based on the March 1998 conference
organized by Stock and Campbell at UCLA, is likely to have a
major influence on elite opinion. (For a summary report of
the conference, see www.ess.ucla.edu:80/huge.)
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V. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OPPOSING TECHNO-EUGENICS
-- Two major San Francisco Bay Area newspapers have recently
published op-ed pieces arguing against germline enhancement and
human cloning.
"Smarter Mice--And Men? Enhancing Desired Traits Undermines
Who
We Are," Zach Hall, Vice-Chancellor of Research, UC San Francisco
(San Francisco Chronicle, 9/29/99). Hall argues that attempts
to genetically engineer human "enhancements" are likely
to have
undesirable medical consequences that cannot be known for many
years, and are likely to exacerbate social inequality and
undermine people's sense of self. To see this article on the
web, go to www.sfgate.com and search for "Zach Hall."
"Human Cloning is a Disaster in the Making: A Scientist's
Case,"
Dr. Michael Goldman, San Francisco State University (Sacramento
Bee, 9/19/99). Goldman argues that there is no need to use
cloning to create babies, that it is likely to cause harm, and
that it is not unreasonable to seek to ban such uses of cloning.
This article can be found at
www.sacbee.com/voices/news/old/voices07_19990919.html.
-- "If Cloning is the Answer, What was the Question?
Power and
Decision-Making in the Geneticization of Health," Sarah Sexton,
Corner House Briefing Number 16, October, 1999. Sexton presents
a detailed analysis of the way scientists attempt to neutralize
public opposition to genetic manipulation technologies. Corner
House, a UK NGO, can be emailed at cornerhouse@gn.apc.org.
Their web site is www.icaap.org/Cornerhouse.
-- "Is Self-Regulation Enough Today? Evaluating the Recombinant
DNA Controversy," Charles Weiner; forthcoming in Health Matrix:
Journal of Law and Medicine, Vol 9, No. 2.
Weiner concludes: "Despite the success in improving the
safety
of research, the quasi-self-regulation model developed in the
recombinant DNA controversy is not adequate for expressing and
enforcing societal and moral limits for potential genetic
engineering applications such as human cloning or human germ-line
interventions. These potential applications are not inevitable
and they raise profound issues beyond laboratory and environmental
safety and patients' rights. They occur in a context of increasing
genetic determinism, pervasive commercialization, and aggressive
efforts to sell genetic intervention as a cure-all for medical
and
even social problems. Separation of the technical issues from
the
ethical issues, and the narrowing of ethical concerns to clinical
biomedical ethics limits meaningful public involvement, and obscures
the larger picture."
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VI. ABOUT THE TECHNO-EUGENICS EMAIL LIST NEWSLETTER
This newsletter stems from the work of academics, activists,
and
others in the San Francisco Bay Area who are concerned about the
direction of the new human genetic technologies. We support
technologies that serve the public interest. We oppose those--
including human germline engineering and human cloning--that
foster inequality, discrimination, objectification, and the
commodification of human genes and tissues.
The pace of developments has picked up considerably in the
past
several months. And glimmers of opposition are starting to emerge.
But most Americans--including most activists and academics--have
no
idea that a small group of influential scientists have launched
a
campaign to promote germline engineering, human cloning, and a
techno-eugenic future.
This newsletter is intended to alert and inform concerned individuals
about the new technologies and the techno-eugenic vision. For
at
least the next several months, the newsletter will be irregular
(a
couple times a month), informal, and non-automated. We'd welcome
feedback, and suggestions about focus and format. A web site
will
be coming soon.
Marcy Darnovsky will moderate. Send submissions to her via
the
email address below.
Unless we hear from you, we'll keep you on this list. Please
let
us know if you don't want to receive the newsletter---we won't
feel
rejected! On the other hand, feel free to forward it to others
who may be interested, and encourage them to subscribe by reply
to Marcy.
Marcy Darnovsky, Ph.D. Richard Hayes, M.A.
teel@adax.com rhayes@socrates.berkeley.edu