911 Dog to be Cloned--It Won't Be the Same Dog
A dog that sniffed out survivors after 9/11 has won a contest to be cloned. From the story: Trakr, a German shepherd who lives with his owner James Symington in Los Angeles, was picked by BioArts International as the most "clone-worthy" canine in a competition offering an owner a free chance to replicate their pet. Symington said he and Trakr were among the first search and rescue teams to arrive at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks, and were responsible for locating the last human survivor under about 30 feet (nine meters) of debris.
But the clone will not be the same dog that he so deeply loves. It may not even look like his dog, much less exhibit the same personality, since we are not merely the product of our genes. Not to mention that the cloned animal could very well have very bad genetic defects from the cloning process.
Now aged 15, the dog no longer has use of his back legs due to a degenerative neurological disorder. According to BioArts, experts believe the condition may be linked to exposure to toxic smoke at the World Trade Center site. "Trakr means the world to me," Symington said. "To know that part of him is going to live on is just beyond words. It's the greatest gift I've ever received."
Don't get me wrong, if it makes Symington happy I am fine with it. But this story adds inadvertent heft to the idea that reproductive cloning could somehow replace our dead loved ones. Indeed, whilst debating human cloning at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, I heard Brigitte Boisselier of the Raelians promise grieving parents that Clonaid could bring back their dead children. It was disgraceful.
Cloning can't do that. Nothing can. It is urgent that we keep that in mind, which is why I decided to bring this matter up.
Labels: Reproductive Cloning.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 10:20 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I'd be surprised if Brigitte said it like that. Of course it's not the same animal or child - it's nothing more than a twin really, and we all realize that twins are different people. At this point in time, all cloning can really do is to allow the genetic code to express itself once again.
Oh yes she did! And she talked about one family keeping the toys of their dead daughter so she could use them again when she was cloned. AND, they brought along grieving parents as guests to the event that Clonaid was trying to convice to pay them to clone. I spoke with two such parents after the debate. They were surprised when I told them that even if their dead child could be cloned--which was then (and now)not doable technologically, she would not be the same person.
Remember Brigitte and Rael conned the world by declaring that through Clonaid's efforts, the first cloned baby had been born. It was all a bunch of bull. Why would she be nuanced when dealing with grieving families with checkbooks?
It was SHAMEFUL.
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