No, I didn't mean to be taken that way. The debate is worth having.there is no attachment to "immortalism", now you're trying to use muscle to silence a debate
The problem is that variation and selection of replicators strongly favors the urge to reproduce. For humans, this means that desires for children, virtues of children, importance of posterity, etc., is a deep part of human culture. The apparent conflict between indefinite lifespans and reproduction is a major source of negative reaction to the idea of lifespan extension. People are wired by evolution to literally prefer death over not reproducing. I believe that advocacy of government control of reproduction because of (incorrectly) perceived incompatibility between indefinite lifespans and reproduction is a reinforcement of a deep emotional backlash that life extension already faces. It's not necessary.
I agree it's not neccesary due to longevity treatments yet, however in some parts of the world we clearly need to prevent procreation
like Africa or China where they haven't been able to feed and provide medical treatment for their babies, give them AIDS, and many are born into slums and only see profound suffering in life - it's disgusting
if people can't stop f__ing in those situations - somebody will have to prevent it
and even here in the states we have all kinds of unwanted pregnancies, refusal to undergo genetic screening even when there is strong predispostion or risk for a screenable disease
people that aren't fit to take care of themselves, let along children, etc...
there are many reasons to demand preimplantation genetic screening and procreational licenses for human beings
it's the rights of those we create vs some desire to screw as we please - the rights of those we create are clearly more important than mere procreational convenience or 'pride of ownership' for careless adults
screw their discomfort with the idea - human beings deserve to be created well - that's the very least we can do for our future fodder
Edited by abolitionist, 02 December 2008 - 12:21 AM.