Along with the healthcare conundrum, I have been forced lately to deal with another sticky situation that I don’t really like. The law is supposed to be equal across the board. However we have of late taken a very murky view of the subject when it comes to kids and their offenses.

For years now the legal age of adulthood in the US has been 18. We say if you aren’t 18 then you aren’t old or responsible enough to do anything. You can’t sign a binding contract, you can’t vote, you can’t smoke, join the military or marry without parental permission. Hell even after 18 we tell people they aren’t responsible enough to drink, gamble, or be considered independent students even if they are the only one paying for their college. (That last one varies from state to state and college to college, but the majority hold to that understanding) Read the full story

We currently are on the edge of a genetic razor. As long as we do nothing and stand perfectly still we come to no harm. Shift our weight to one side or the other without creating a counter balance and we are cut in twain. While standing still doing nothing might seem safe, it does nothing for our genetic progress as a species.

A news report out of The Scotsman, suggests under British law, and probably that of a number of other countries, that it is perfectly legal to artificially inseminate an animal with human sperm. The belief by scientists is a hybrid could be created as an organ donor, by fertilizing a female chimp with human sperm. The fact that this has been made public suggests they have had successful petri dish trials. The notion is fairly noble, but in reality it scares the shit out of me.

I don’t believe in an almighty god or gods, so my objection is not on religious grounds. What scare me is moral and ethical issues. If we create a human hybrid, it becomes a separate species, which may or may not be capable of reproduction. Not only might it be a viable new species, what happens if it is a sentient species? Do we have the right to enslave a sentient species as organ donors letting them die if it is an organ we need?

Furthermore if it is a sentient species, even a less intelligent one, what rights does it have? It is half-human, will it be afforded the basic human rights we say all humans are endowed by their creator with? If killing them isn’t an option because of intelligence and they are self propagating how will they integrate into our society? Will they be our equals or will they be our slaves?

This all might sound a bit Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, but it is also a very real possibility. We need to think before we act of the consequences far down the road. Even if we don’t just start harvesting organs or turning them into our slaves, another sentient species on this over populated planet can’t be a good thing.