X-Message-Number: 26210 Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 23:45:46 -0400 From: Randolfe Wicker <> Subject: How to save cells for cloning? Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT The "living Father of the Gay Liberation Movement", Frank Kameny, has told me he is willing to have some of his cells saved for future cloning. Franklin Kameny challenged the National Association for the Advancement of Science meeting focusing on "cloning" in 1997 by equating their denial of the possibility of reproductive human cloning as being equivalent to King Chanute's order to the sea "not to rise". On May 20,2005, Korean scientists reported that they had mastered the cloning of human embryos. This meant that therapeutic cloning would possibly be able to cure many terrible human diseases. It also meant that anyone willing to "violate guidelines" for therapeutic cloning could give the gift of life to the first child conceived through cloning. So, human reproductive cloning is now a possibility. It is not just a possibility, it is inevitable. Why are people so afraid? Is the idea of a "second incarnation" of themselves- a later-born twin- a threat to their own personhood? Or does it really raise more basic questions. Does surviving death through a later-born twin defy death its traditional totality? Does cloning offer an alternative to immortality through traditional religion? As the world's first reproductive cloning activist, I say that cloning proves that continued life is possible after death. Human cloning offers a real-time real-life alternative to the mythology of religion. We need not die completely. First, the formula that is us, our genotype, can life on. Ultimately, our genotype and the experiences/memories that are us will also be able to live on. That is all part of our Transhumanist future! Cloningly yours, Randy Wicker Randolfe H. Wicker Founder, Clone Rights United Front www.clonerights.com Spokesperson, Reproductive Cloning Network, www.reproductivecloning.net Correspondent, , StemClone Digest, www.StemCloneDigest.com Advisor, The Immortality Institute, www.imminst.org 201-656-3280 (Mornings) Content-type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26210