We have a new proposal at vote.
The Cloning Conventions
A resolution to modify universal standards of healthcare.
Category: Health | Area of Effect: Bioethics | Proposed by: Caspian Settlement
Disturbed by the lack of legislation concerning biological clones;
Aware that many nations with biological engineering have the ability to clone organisms and the increasing importance and potential biological cloning has to the future of biology, ecology, and society;
Seeking to prevent potential detriment and harm to future clones so that they are not mistreated nor misused, and in the case of sapient clones, ensure they have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
Striving to clarify the ethical boundaries on cloning to prevent unethical experimentation and account for all possible mishaps that could occur within the cloning process, especially for sapient beings;
Resolute in the belief that comprehensive conventions must be created in regards to biological cloning to establish a reasonable set of moral principles on behavior towards both clones and cloning;
The World Assembly hereby:
1. Defines a clone for any organism as either a genetically identical, or not significantly genetically altered, artificially produced copy of a single individual, the originator;
2. Excludes, for the purposes of this resolution, any artificially produced but genetically identical or genetically altered copy of any originator that can asexually reproduce for the intentions of having offspring, the naturally reproduced descendant of an originator, due to an
inability to realistically naturally reproduce asexually or sexually, and/or a genetically identical or genetically altered copy of any plant originator created via traditional techniques (such as cuttings) derived from agriculture and/or horticulture, from being defined as a clone,
and defines them as offspring instead;
3. Grants all clones the same rights as their originator’s species, regardless of any disabilities resulting from a failed cloning;
4. Restricts all cloning to only be done by qualified biomedical personnel, or qualified veterinary personnel in collaboration with qualified biomedical personnel, and qualified laboratory technicians who are appointed and under the responsibility of qualified
biomedical/veterinary personnel;
a. Restricts the cloning of sapient organisms only to originators who fully consent to being cloned;
5. Permits the cloning of unconscious, unfeeling organisms from sapient originators, where the clones themselves do not and will not possess any sapience and have been proven to not be in locked-in syndrome, for biomedical experimentation and use;
6. Bans the intentional cloning of conscious, feeling organisms from sapient originators for biomedical experimentation and use, and of any cloning of any sapient originator if the medical professionals who clone cannot reliably confirm, with a high degree of confidence,
that the clone is not suffering from locked-in syndrome or any related disability;
7. Reserves for all sapient clones the right to know the origin of their genetic material at their national legal age of consent unless the clonal parent requests otherwise;
8. Authorizes and actively encourages nations to share cloning technology, provided that sharing does not violate extant resolutions;
9. Reserves for all WA member-states the right to legislate on the legal methods of cloning as laid out by this resolution and on anything regarding organ cloning;
10. Assigns the World Assembly Scientific Programme the duties of overlooking cloning for biomedical research and use to ensure their accordance with this resolution and the promotion of the sharing of cloning technology.
My main issue with this is clause 4 a, which effectively bans the cloning of extinct organisms. There is no way of knowing whether the extinct organism is sapient or not, so you can't clone it without getting its consent, just in case the clone is sapient - and it is evidently impossible to obtain full consent from an extinct organism.
Here's the link to the forum thread for this proposal, in case you want to read up on the arguments for and against.
