Thursday, May 13, 2004
Who's your daddy?
Laws governing artificial reproduction suggest that we are setting up a biological time bomb.
In many countries (NZ, the UK and USA for starters), when men donate sperm to a sperm bank, the resulting child is not automatically told that his "dad" is not his dad at all. In fact, in some countries the child is legally blocked from finding out who his genetic father is. The same goes for women donating eggs.
By hiding the genetic family line from children, we are setting up the potential for incest. If you don't know who your father is, how can you know whether you are marrying your sister?
You might think that the odds of this happening are pretty remote. Not so. While the American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends no more than 25 children from the same donor for a population of 800,000, that could be 25 people in a city the size of Auckland who are my brothers and sisters that I don't know about. And other countries have more liberal limits.
These sort of questions weigh heavy on the mind of those kids who do find out, as witness this story on Fox News.
Considering the strong taboos against incest in nearly all societies, it is beyond strange that we are legalising to make it happen.
But even stranger scenarios can occur with the new technologies. The New York State Task Force on Life and the Law points out that a child can now have three genetic parents. The New Zealand Law Commission recently came out with a discussion document on new issues in Legal Parenting which paints even more bizare possibilities. See the examples in Section 3.
Laws governing artificial reproduction suggest that we are setting up a biological time bomb.
In many countries (NZ, the UK and USA for starters), when men donate sperm to a sperm bank, the resulting child is not automatically told that his "dad" is not his dad at all. In fact, in some countries the child is legally blocked from finding out who his genetic father is. The same goes for women donating eggs.
By hiding the genetic family line from children, we are setting up the potential for incest. If you don't know who your father is, how can you know whether you are marrying your sister?
You might think that the odds of this happening are pretty remote. Not so. While the American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends no more than 25 children from the same donor for a population of 800,000, that could be 25 people in a city the size of Auckland who are my brothers and sisters that I don't know about. And other countries have more liberal limits.
These sort of questions weigh heavy on the mind of those kids who do find out, as witness this story on Fox News.
Considering the strong taboos against incest in nearly all societies, it is beyond strange that we are legalising to make it happen.
But even stranger scenarios can occur with the new technologies. The New York State Task Force on Life and the Law points out that a child can now have three genetic parents. The New Zealand Law Commission recently came out with a discussion document on new issues in Legal Parenting which paints even more bizare possibilities. See the examples in Section 3.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Knock 'em down, then build 'em up?
Is this very black humour, or the world's greatest irony of 2004?
Osama bin Laden's family business is on the short list of contractors bidding to build the world's tallest skyscraper.
WorldNet Daily says it may seem tragically ironic that the name most closely associated with the destruction of New York's World Trade Center may soon be associated with the construction of the world's tallest building.
But, nevertheless, according to officials in Dubai – the site of the Burj Dubai, scheduled for completion in 2008 – that is more than a distinct possibility.
The Saudi Binladin Group, the biggest developer in the kingdom, begun by Osama bin Laden's father, is in the running for the project.
The skyscraper will be nearly half a mile and about one-third taller than the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. It will include a hotel wing, apartments, offices, entertainment centers and restaurants.
Is this very black humour, or the world's greatest irony of 2004?
Osama bin Laden's family business is on the short list of contractors bidding to build the world's tallest skyscraper.
WorldNet Daily says it may seem tragically ironic that the name most closely associated with the destruction of New York's World Trade Center may soon be associated with the construction of the world's tallest building.
But, nevertheless, according to officials in Dubai – the site of the Burj Dubai, scheduled for completion in 2008 – that is more than a distinct possibility.
The Saudi Binladin Group, the biggest developer in the kingdom, begun by Osama bin Laden's father, is in the running for the project.
The skyscraper will be nearly half a mile and about one-third taller than the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. It will include a hotel wing, apartments, offices, entertainment centers and restaurants.
