Killa Kev - Eugenics #FYL
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Category Archives: Eugenics
*New* Transhumanism, Joseph P. Farrell
*New* Transhumanism, Joseph P. Farrell Scott de Hart, The Byte Show
GeorgeAnn interviews Joseph P. Farrell and Scott de Hart about their gripping new book, "Transhumanism: A Grimoire of Alchemical Agendas." Alchemy, the science that prceded ancient Egypt and for which ancient Egypt was named, is transmutation of man. What is the underlying connection between this ancient science and the post-modern techniques of genetics, biology, computer science and other sciences? Surprisingly, the connections are direct and deep. The implications of these sciences and the agendas of their promoters portends vast changes to human culture and society. In this groundbreaking and gripping conversation, Drs. Farrell and de Hart break down these connections and tie together the trends to enable us to have a broad conversation about these technologies and their implications. What does it mean to be human? Are genetically-modified crops converting humans into patented beings? Is this panoply of agendas attempting to reverse "The Fall of Man?" Where are these agendas taking the world? This is a *must* listen. Dante, Inferno, Percy Shelly, Frankenstein, Oscar Wilde, Monsanto, Iraq, patents, Golden Dawn, Freemasons, Freemasonry, Yahweh, Tower of Babel, Song of Solomon, Thomas Aquinas, seed banks, eugenics, androgyny, hermaphrodite, genetically-modified crops, GMO, soul-catcher, soul transfer, Sumeria, Babylonia, Assyria, The Byte Show is listener-supported at thebyteshow.com. Your support enables GeorgeAnn to produce more shows. If these tapes are valuable to ...From:TheByteShowChannelViews:15 3ratingsTime:01:54:01More inScience Technology
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NC panel finds more sterilization victims
Raleigh, N.C. A state panel said Thursday that another 50 living victims of North Carolina's forced sterilization program have been identified, bringing the total to 168.
The North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation has confirmed that another 18 people who have since died also were part of the eugenics program that operated between 1929 and 1974. More than 7,600 sterilization procedures were conducted in that period.
The state House voted in May to include money in the 2012-13 budget to pay each living victim $50,000 in compensation, but the Senate refused to agree to the move.
"We came so close to achieving compensation for those who were victimized by the state before the legislature refused to approve my budget recommendation," Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement Thursday. "We cannot stand idle on the sidelines while these aging citizens die without due compensation from what the state did to them.
Sterilization victims have been found in 61 of the state's 100 counties, with the largest number, 24, in Lenoir County. Mecklenburg County at 15 and Wake County at 12 are the only others with more than 10 verified victims.
The proposed compensation program also would establish a permanent exhibit about the eugenics movement in the North Carolina Museum of History.
Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Buncombe victims verified in forced sterilizations
RALEIGH The foundation that developed a plan to compensate victims of forced sterilization is reporting an increase in the number of verified victims of North Carolinas old eugenics program.
N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation announced Thursday that a new count shows 186 victims in 61 counties. The count includes 168 living victims.
The report said counties with new verifications include Buncombe, Lee, Montgomery and Edgecombe. While procedures were performed in all 100 counties, 43 counties still report no verifications.
Lenoir County continues to report the highest number of verifications with 24 matches to N.C. Eugenics Board records. Mecklenburg County, which had the highest number of procedures of any North Carolina county, follows with 15 verifications.
Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina forcibly sterilized about 7,600 people.
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N.C. group finds increase in verified sterilizations
RALEIGH The foundation that developed a plan to compensate victims of forced sterilization is reporting an increase in the number of verified victims of North Carolina's old eugenics program.
N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation announced Thursday that a new count shows 186 victims in 61 counties. The count includes 168 living victims.
The report said counties with new verifications include Lee, Montgomery, Buncombe and Edgecombe. While procedures were performed in all 100 counties, 43 counties still report no verifications.
Lenoir County continues to report the highest number of verifications with 24 matches to N.C. Eugenics Board records. Mecklenburg County, which had the highest number of procedures of any North Carolina county, follows with 15 verifications.
Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina forcibly sterilized about 7,600 people.
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NC group finds increase in verified sterilizations
RALEIGH, N.C.
The foundation that developed a plan to compensate victims of forced sterilization is reporting an increase in the number of verified victims of North Carolina's old eugenics program. N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation announced Thursday that a new count shows 186 victims in 61 counties. The count includes 168 living victims. The report said counties with new verifications include Lee, Montgomery, Buncombe and Edgecombe. While procedures were performed in all 100 counties, 43 counties still report no verifications. Lenoir County continues to report the highest number of verifications, with 24 matches to N.C. Eugenics Board records. Mecklenburg County, which had the highest number of procedures of any North Carolina county, follows with 15 verifications. Between 1929 to 1974, North Carolina forcibly sterilized about 7,600 people.
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Victims Of NC Sterilization Program Increase
Raleigh, NC-- The NC Justice For Sterilization Victims Foundation has confirmed an increase in the number of verified victims of the state's former Eugenics Board Program.
Thursday, the organization said a 186 individuals in 61 counties, including 168 living victims are now listed.
Gov. Perdue's budget called for providing $50,000 compensation to each living victim, as well as certain health services and establishing a permanent exhibit about the Eugenics movement in the N.C. Museum of History. In June, the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics revised down the number of likely living victims from about 1,500 to 2,000 to about 1,350 to 1,800.
As of today, Lenoir County, where the Caswell Center is located, continues to have the highest number of verifications with 24 matches to N.C. Eugenics Board records. Mecklenburg, which had the highest number of procedures of any North Carolina county, follows with 15 verifications, then Wake with 12. Among the Top 10 counties, Scotland is the only one to have no matches to date.
Counties with new verifications include Lee, Montgomery, Buncombe and Edgecombe. While procedures were performed in all 100 counties, 43 counties still report zero verifications.
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Elkins guest speaker at annual Online Apologetics Conference on Earth Day
Athanatos Christian Ministries proudly presents eugenics expert and author Derek Elkins as a guest speaker for its fourth annual Online Apologetics Conference on Earth Day, April 22, 2013.
(PRWEB) October 22, 2012
Elkins, author of the forthcoming book Life Unworthy of Life, is one of several speakers slated to present talks on the conferences theme: A Defense of the Faith is a Defense of Life.
The Independence, Mo., natives book was recently named the winner of the Athanatos Christian Ministries 2012 Christian Novel Writing Contest. Slated for release in April 2013, the provocative novel addresses the Nazis T4 program, which aimed to exterminate the mentally ill, physically disabled and other who were deemed unfit to live from society.
We tend to think the Germans had a special hatred for the Jews, but in truth they hated all 'human vermin,' the Jews being just an exceptionally large group that was easy to target. The Nazi 'T4' program started even before the Jews were being rounded up, and targeted fellow Germans that they deemed defective, said Anthony Horvath, executive director of Athanatos Ministries.
Because of the scope of the Holocaust, this extermination program has slipped through the cracks of history, even though tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people were killed often only after they had been experimented on.
Horvath said Elkins' book refreshes the collective memory about this tragedy through fiction. For this reason, he was pleased to publish his book, "Life Unworthy of Life.
I am delighted to have him as a speaker at our upcoming online apologetics conference, which specifically explores the connection between one's ideology and their stance on human life, he said.
The keynote speaker for the conference is Steven Mosher, president of Population Research Institute. Mosher is an internationally recognized authority on China and population issues, as well as an acclaimed author, speaker. He has worked tirelessly since 1979 to fight coercive population control programs and has helped hundreds of thousands of women and families worldwide over the years.
The cost to attend the Online Apologetics Conference is $30. Learn more about the conference by visiting http://onlineapologeticsconference.com/. Information about Elkins is available at http://lifeunworthy.com/.
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Elkins guest speaker at annual Online Apologetics Conference on Earth Day
Dorries: Left's pro-choice stance inspired by 'eugenics'
By Charles Maggs
The left's support for abortion rights stems from its historic relationship with the "eugenics movement", controversial Tory MP Nadine Dorries has said.
The outburst will cause anger on the left due to the movement's close association with theories of racial superiority and the Nazi party.
Asked why the left tends to be more sympathetic to abortion rights, Dorries told politics.co.uk: "I think it goes back to a time when the left was linked very closely to the eugenics movement and people like Marie Stopes, who didn't even attend her own daughter's wedding because she was marrying a man who was wearing glasses.
"That's where I think the left's historic position of abortion stems from."
Eugenics is a biological and social movement which aims to improve the genetic composition of human populations. It was popular in the early Twentieth Century but fell dramatically out of favour after Nazi scientists used it to try and prove theories of racial supremacy.
Dorries argued the left continues to support pro-choice groups, such as AbortionRights, through the trade union movement.
The Mid Bedfordshire MP is currently trying to lower the legal limit on abortions to 20 weeks, from its current limit of 24.
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The Cricket
"Melodic hardcore" band Taking Back Sunday marks its 10th anniversary with a complete performance of their debut album "Tell All Your Friends," at In the Venue, 219 W. 600 South, Salt Lake City. Show starts at 6:30. Tickets are $25, available at Smiths Tix and 24Tix.
Minimalist rock band The xx performs at The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City. Opening acts: John Talabot, 2:54. Show starts at 7. Tickets are $27.50, at Smiths Tix.
Rock band Switchfoot performs at The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Opening act: Paper Route. Show starts at 7. Tickets are $25, at Smiths Tix.
A screening of Tod Brownings infamous 1932 horror film "Freaks," and a presentation by author Angela Smith of her new book "Hideous Progeny: Disability, Eugenics and Classic Horror Film," will happen at the City Library auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. The event, part of the Utah Humanities Councils 15th annual Book Festival, is free.
Jazz double-bassist Ben Allison performs at the Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City. Show starts at 7:30. Part of the JazzSLC series. Tickets are $25, at ArtTix.
Funk performers The Steve Kimock Band featuring the legendary Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic), Black Crowes bassist Andy Hess, and Timbuk 3 drummer Wally Ingram plays The State Room, 638 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Opening act: Zach Deputy. Show starts at 8. Tickets are $25, at the venues website.
Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tintin racism row puts spotlight on children's literature
The decision to reshelve Hergé's books because of their perceived colonial and racist tint has generated heated debate Last month, one of Sweden's most prestigious national dailies blew up an article on its front page about cultural director at Stockholm Culture House Berhang Miri (a Swede of Iranian descent) reshelving Hergé's Tintin books because of their perceived colonial taint, generating ...
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Bud Wright: Hang in there — it will all be over soon
As I was growing to maturity (OK, that ones debatable) the most subversive influence on Americas youth was MAD magazine. If you are a card-carrying Baby Boomer (and these days its an AARP card) then you harbor fond memories of Alfred E. Neuman (what ... me worry?), cartoonist Don Martins grotesquely comical creations and Spy vs. Spy.
This little slice of cultural chaos was a little pricey (50 cents ... cheap) so for me it was an occasional indulgence. But whenever I could scrounge up the four bits it made for a blissful afternoons lampooning of societal norms when that was far from common.
What made MAD special was the way it took ordinary facets of American life and turned them inside out. Generally speaking, it was stuff that otherwise went unexamined.
I still remember one parody from the early 60s wherein a reporter interviewed a pot-bellied cop who was a proud member of the John Birch Society. It was howlingly funny and enlightening. There were equally lacerating spoofs of the counterculture. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter once observed that MAD was ready to pounce on the illogical, hypocritical, self-serious and ludicrous.
Where is MAD when we need it? Oh, its still around but it no longer enjoys the cultural cachet it once did.
All of the following tidbits were found circulating about the inter-web. None were prominently reported in the mainstream media. They were not reported at all in the right-wing media. Thats because the media doesnt care, our politicians prevaricate and we-the-people disregard anything that gets in the way of our preconceived, predigested perceptions.
This week, Mitt Romney (who is vowing to repeal Obamacare which is the mirror-image of the health care bill Mitt himself pushed for and signed into law as governor of Massachusetts) stated that; We dont have people who die in their apartment because they dont have insurance.
Estimates vary, but even the most conservative guesstimate is that between 30 and 50 thousand people die each year in this country as a direct result of being uninsured. The most despicable aspect of Mitts remark is that he knows this. We often yearn for a cure for death by cancer. We could cure death by apathy with the stroke of a pen.
Republican Wisconsin state Rep. Roger Rivard made the observation, this week, that; Some girls rape easy. He was affectionately quoting his father. The point he was attempting to make is that rape is very often a simple case of buyers remorse. Did you ever wonder how ignorance and bigotry propagate so easily? Children are empty vessels and it is parents who fill them.
Former Republican Arkansas state Rep. Charlie Fuqua (who is running again) has called for the forced sterilization of negligent parents. Actually, we did have a brush with eugenics back in the early decades of the 20th century. Its one of the uglier chapters in our history.
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Slate's Explainer: If Maria Shriver takes Arnold back
Arnold Schwarzenegger still hopes to win back Maria Shriver, who filed for divorce from him last year after learning that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son with the family's housekeeper. When divorced couples remarry each other, how often does it work out?
Probably less than one-half the time. Anecdotes about divorced couples who remarry each other abound, especially among politicians and celebrities, but there's little in the way of systematic research. A 2004 survey of 1,147 divorcees by the AARP suggested that around 6 percent give their marriage another try, while 4 percent continue to have sex with each other after they divorce.
The most detailed study of the success of second-chance marriages comes from 1938, when pioneering marriage counselor Paul Popenoe compiled 200 stories of couples who married each other two or more times. (His sample, drawn from his patients, acquaintances of his students, and newspapers clippings, wasn't exactly random.) Popenoe reported that 48 percent of the remarried couples were happy together at the time of the study. It's not clear whether that estimate remains accurate today, when the overall divorce rate is nearly double that of the 1930s. The second-chance divorce rate may have risen with the overall divorce rate. On the other hand, some modern couples may divorce too hastily, then find themselves compatible on the second try.
Popenoe's 1938 study suggests that, even if Shriver decides to give Schwarzenegger another chance, the ex-governor might have to wait a while. Couples that have long first marriages Schwarzenegger and Shriver were together for 25 years before separating in 2011 tend to wait longer to get back together, for unknown reasons. Second-timers are, however, quick to pull the plug on the do-over. Popenoe found that, among repeat divorcees, the second marriage typically lasts less than a year.
Popenoe's qualitative analysis is no longer useful, largely because he was a man of his time (a condition also made evident by his fervent support of the eugenics movement). He blamed many second marriages on wives who longed for " 'freedom,' self-expression, or an independent career," only to learn that "the world did not yearn for her talents in art or business." Popenoe would describe the Schwarzenegger-Shriver separation as the result of a "righteously indignant" wife upset that her husband had a "middle age infatuation" with an "adventuress."
Certain societies have, at times, taken a dim view of second-chance marriages. Romanian divorcees were forbidden to remarry their exes during the 19th century, for example. In India, the law that applies to Muslim marriages prohibits remarriage to the same person, unless the wife has first married and divorced another man, in a practice known as "Halala."
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Government strategy 'misses opportunity'
Government plans to better support children at risk of abuse have a range of good ideas but miss some important opportunities to reduce reliance on agencies according to a group using volunteers to improve child safety.
"The white paper plan is almost exclusively focused on professionals and agencies - both government and non-government. We think they have missed a critical piece of the puzzle, which is utilising the healthy, caring adults in communities and neighbourhoods that children are being raised in. It takes a village to raise a child and healthy villages raise healthy children" said Manu Caddie the project manager for Tiakina o Tatou Tamariki, a neighbourhood project focused on keeping children safe in two suburbs of Gisborne and Whanganui.
"We have seen how adults within neighbourhoods can develop their skills and grow their commitment to supporting vulnerable families, including parents and children. Everyone can agree that kids should be safe, and providing opportunities for neighbours to get to know and trust each other reduces isolation and risk."
Mr Caddie said some of the measures in the Government white paper released today sound big brother and intrusive but there are a group of adults who should not have children in their care.
"Its disappointing that most of the measures seem to give more power to the state and professionals, I guess we would have liked to see more focus on Government supporting neighbourhoods and communities to become healthy, trusting and well connected" said Mr Caddie.
"The Vulnerable Kids Information System to identify risks prior to birth may be useful, because it's quite possible to see the train crash coming, but combined with the recently announced Government sterilisation of beneficiaries, there is a risk you are heading down a pathway to eugenics".
A database of at-risk children could be a very powerful tool in child abuse prevention, but Mr Caddie points to existing national databases of at-risk children and wonders how successful these have been.
"We know for all the good work Child, Youth & Family do, their extensive national database that tracks children and families still contains many, many children who are being mistreated."
Mr Caddie said he hoped parents would be supported to access the information agencies held about the families as professionals can misuse their power, even when they think they are helping.
Mr Caddie said Te Ora Hou Aotearoa, the organisation he works for supports the white paper proposal for a national education campaign to identify signs of abuse, but would also like to see a campaign focused on keeping kids safe and cared for.
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Holocaust survivor visits Clarkson
This section displays the last 50 news articles that were published.
Updated10/08/2012 05:09 PM
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POTSDAM, N.Y. -- The Holocaust survivor noted for publicly forgiving the Nazis visited Clarkson Monday to share her story.
Eva Kor and her family were taken to Auschwitz when she was 10-years-old. Only Kor and her twin sister survived. She later moved to Israel, where she met her husband and moved to Indiana.
Kor is the founder of CANDLES, which is a museum dedicated to the children of the Nazis lab experiments.
Kor's moving story centers around her forgiveness of the Nazis. She says that through her museum and public speeches, she hopes her message of forgiveness resonates with the audience.
"It is in many ways, the most amazing thing. It costs no money. It's absolutely free. So I like that everyone can afford it. I don't know if anything else in the world that can change a person's life that much is free," said Eva Mozes Kor.
Clarkson Professor Sheila Weiss is writing a book about Nazi eugenics experiments, like the one Kor was involved in.
Weiss said that once she came across Kor's story, she knew she had to try to get her to come to Clarkson.
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Ron Corbett
The delay in recognizing the canal workers has nothing to do with the need for exhaustive historical research
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Vet talks of forced sterilization by Virginia
By RAY REED The News & Advance
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Not all of the people who were sterilized during Virginia's eugenics program were feeble-minded.
Lewis Reynolds, a Lynchburg resident and 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps, is one of them.
Reynolds, who suffered from epilepsy as a child, was given a vasectomy at age 13 at what is now the Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights. A doctor wrote that the procedure "will take a big burden off him in the future."
Reynolds wasn't sure what was being done to him. But he knows the result.
"Sometimes I cry when I see a lady pregnant or something like that. I always wanted children and never could have them," he said recently. "Sometimes I get off by myself and cry."
An advocacy group called the Christian Law Institute hopes Reynolds can help it persuade Virginia to make symbolic payments to surviving victims of the misguided science of eugenics, which developed in the 1920s in the belief that people with mental disabilities shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.
A majority of the victims, male and female, were sterilized in the Madison Heights institution known in that time as the State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded.
Mark Bold, the Lynchburg-area spokesman for the advocacy organization and its executive director, said Reynolds "is somebody that has an incredible story to tell, with some photos as well. He's impressive and articulate."
Bold said the group is calling on Gov. Bob McDonnell to establish a task force to identify victims of sterilization and "determine the appropriate method of compensation."
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Defender of Christianity Launches Initiative to Defend Life
Anthony Horvath, the Executive Director of Athanatos Christian Ministries, a Christian apologetics ministry, has announced a series of projects designed to link a person's worldview to their attitudes on life issues.
(PRWEB) October 05, 2012
In 2006, Anthony and his wife were informed at the 20 week ultrasound that their daughter had spina bifida and were asked on the spot if they wanted to abort her. The choice was easy for them, even if the situation was hard. In his 2007 book, We Chose Life: Why You Should Too, Horvath says that his Christian faith enabled them to make the right decision, even in the midst of their crisis.
Since then, Horvath has been researching, writing, and speaking on the reasons for the high abortion rates of children diagnosed with birth defects such as Down syndrome, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy, to name a few. According to some estimates, 90% of all children in America diagnosed with a birth defect are aborted.
He was startled to learn to what degree these abortion rates have been spurred on by eugenics movements in the 1950s reshaping their approach in light of the bad reputation they earned thanks to Hitler and his Nazis. On his blog, Anthony explains how men like Frederick Osborn, S.C. Reed, and a host of others called for 'genetic counseling' services that would rely on 'voluntary unconscious selection' as their future strategy. In other words, getting people to abort the types of children that the eugenicists did not like, while having them think it was their idea.
These organizations are still in existence today, though their names have changed.
Horvath has launched a pro-life petition project in the hopes of spurring legislators to think more carefully about what types of things our taxes are funding. Horvath will personally deliver the petition with its signatures to legislators and their staffers at both the state and Federal level.
Athanatos Ministries has hosted online apologetics conferences for several years. The 2013 one will be specifically organized to address the connection between one's worldview and one's attitudes on life issues.
"It may be surprising to some," says Horvath, "but one's views on God have consequences for our views on Man. Our conference will develop that theme further."
For information about the petition project, people are encouraged to visit athanatosministries.org for more information. The online conference website is onlineapologeticsconference.com.
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Sperm selling business boom in Ghana
Feature Article of Saturday, 6 October 2012
Columnist: Bonna, Adu
Dear Editor Kindly allow me a little space in your esteemed newspaper to publish this article in response to an article that appeared in myjoyonline.com on October 2, 2012 entitled sperm selling business boom in Ghana. Sperm donation (selling) occurs when a man donates (sells) his sperm with the intention of using it to impregnate a woman who is not his sexual partner. I prefer to use sell rather than donate as some men, like the medical student at Legon mentioned in the article who sold his sperm for GH50, 000 on five occasions to cater for his education.
Peace FM followed-up on the article by interviewing a sample of Ghanaian men and women who indicated that they are in favor of eugenics and sperm selling business. Almost all the men interviewed were ready to make business out of it whereas 80% women interviewed were willing to go through all emotional and psychological pain to achieve their child-bearing goal. It is not wrong to desire the blessing of children as we also desire the blessing of good job, good family, good friendship, and good Christian life. But when we pursue these blessings inconsistent with biblical principles, then we end up unconsciously blocking our blessings from God. A biblical look at eugenics and sperm donation business raises valid religious, social, health, and legal concerns. The process uses a common sperm retrieval technique of masturbation, which is erotic fantasy of having sexual intercourse with a woman with or without use of pornographic materials. God is not in favor of masturbation and urged Christians to get rid of sexual sins including even just looking at a woman lustfully. Jesus said do not look at a woman in a wrong way. Anyone who does that has already committed adultery with her in his heart (NIV Matt. 5: 28).
Now if a married woman buys the sperm of another man (outside the marriage bond), she is inviting the intrusion of another mans seed into herself. This act is an adulterous occurrence even if the husband consents to the act or not. The fact that another mans sperm has entered the body of a woman she is not married to brings adulterous behavior into picture although there is no physical sexual contact. Marriage is designed to be between a man and a woman (2 people) and children be born out of that union (NIV Gen. 1:28, Gen 2:24, Psalm 127:3). To buy a mans sperm means there is a third party either known or unknown in the marriage. We understand the advancement of technology and medicine in modern global world but that does not change the plan of God for his children. Another serious concern that worries me the most is accidental incest that can easily occur in our society with its dire consequences. In the 1940s a British man, Bertold Weisner fathered more than 1,500 children in a fertility clinic by donating his sperms. Studies have shown the possibility of fathering more children from other fertility clinics in Britain because there was no regulation about sperm donation at that time in Britain. The concern was a greater likelihood of accidental incest from uncontrolled sperm donation. Accidental incest occurs when two people that have the same father from sperm donations meet and/or produce a child. The family then suffers the consequences of an incest relationship despite the parents having no idea of blood relationships. Ghanas constitution forbids incest and God condemns incest in all forms and there are serious consequences of generational curse and death (NIV Gen. 19: 32 -36: 2 Peter 2: 7-8: Lev. 18:16).
There are also health and safety issues associated with sperm donation. Donors are generally required to present extensive family and personal medical histories, history of genetic disorders, as well as medical evaluation including screening for sexually transmitted diseases. There are health risks and safety issues because of inadequate testing, human errors in testing, and false presentation of family and personal medical histories. In a developing country such as Ghana where record keeping is in its infant stage how can sperm sellers family and medical records be accurately verified? Couples or potential mothers who want to have a child through sperm buying have to understand the imperfect circumstances they are putting themselves.
Legal issues can arise if the sperm donor has access to the womans identity by claiming to be the biological father of the child when the child has been successful in life. The non-biological father has no hereditary or genetic relationship with the child and legal battle may happen. Again, when disagreement occurs in the marriage it is possible for the woman to tell the husband that he is not the father of their children causing severe sadness in the mans heart. We Christians have been forewarned by God that scientific knowledge cannot add to our permanent happiness because much wisdom comes much sorrow, the more knowledge, the more the grief (NIV Ecclesiastes 1:18). Family cohesion may be threatened in the future by sperm buying. Finally, parents can feel burdened by their own multiple lies to conceal the secret from their children.
God has provided us with knowledge to avoid some of these problems with the aim of making our happiness complete. God said my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children (NIV Hosea: 4:6).
Sperm selling should never be a booming business and government should pass laws and regulations to regulate it. Couples wanting to go through this process should receive counseling from their pastors so they do not incur the wrath of God in the end. We have to understand that children are a gift from the Lord (NIV Psalm 127:3). If couples are more concerned about child-bearing rather than love sharing in marriage, then I suggest that they go for reproductive genetic testing before marrying. Some churches have introduced testing of sexually transmitted diseases in their marriage counseling programs and reproductive genetic testing can optionally be added for the would-be couples. The couples can use adoption as an alternative of receiving the child-bearing gift from God. Selected References:
Fleischman, R. (2012). A biblical look at sperm donation. Christian Life Resources for Life, and Family retrieved from www. Christianliferesources.com Ruutainen, T (2010). Anonymity and secrecy in gamete donation: Reconciling family values and individual rights. Journal of Health, Ethics, and Policy, 9 (2) from http://www.tuftscopejournal.org
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Warning: Genetically Modified Humans
ANATOLIA, 9,000BC - The rising sun advanced over the hills, engulfing the arid land in a blaze of warmth. Below the amber sky lay a patchwork of wheat fields, in which a scattering of stooped figures silently harvested their crops. Later, their harvest would be scrutinised, and only the largest grains selected for planting in the autumn. A revolution was occurring. For the first time in 3.6 billion years, life had subverted the evolutionary process and began to steer it not with natural selection, but artificial selection. Selection pressures became synonymous with the needs of the architects; the farmers. The technique led to a widespread transition from hunter-gathering to agriculture, a shift that would transform human culture and lay the foundations for the first civilisations. Moreover, in their efforts to permanently remodel the characteristics of a species, early farmers were pioneers of genetic modification. The modification of plants would later be followed by the domestication of animals, and perhaps eventually, human beings. From the promotion of eugenics to justify genocide in Nazi Germany, to the mass-produced and homogenous population of Aldous Huxley's dystopian future in the novel 'Brave New World', to 'Frankenfood', genetic engineering has amassed a reputation as a treacherous pursuit. However, a recent development appears to have slipped under the public radar: human pre-natal diagnosis. Screening foetal genomes to eliminate genetic 'defects' may lead to incremental changes in the human genetic reservoir, a permanent shift in our characteristics and eventually, self-domestication. The technique involves testing for diseases in a human embryo or foetus, and may be performed to determine if it will be aborted, or in high-risk pregnancies, to enable the provision of immediate medical treatment on delivery. Until recently, pre-natal screening required invasive procedures such as amniocentesis, in which the fluid from the sac surrounding the foetus, the amnion, is sampled and the DNA examined for genetic abnormalities. The procedure can only be performed after the 15th week of pregnancy, and carries a 1% risk of miscarriage and the possibility of complications. In the light of such limitations and risks, the technique hasn't gained widespread popularity. However, a research group based at the University of Washington in Seattle has developed an alternative. Their simple test can be performed weeks earlier than current pre-natal screening, and crucially, requires only a maternal blood sample and DNA from both parents. The technique exploits the fragments of foetal DNA in the mother's blood plasma, which can be strung together by sequencing each nucleotide many times, and then differentiated from maternal and paternal DNA by statistical comparison. It's quick, harmless, and may soon become widely available. Therein lies the problem. Such a tool is a powerful new route gleaning information about unborn offspring. The object of the exercise: to identify foetuses with the earmarks of genetic disease as candidates for abortion. Inevitably, the technique is vulnerable to abuse and will empower parents to discriminate the characteristics of their progeny pre-emptively, in a step towards 'designer babies'. Nevertheless, there is a more immediate concern. Screening for inheritable disorders requires knowledge of their genetic basis, which can be dangerously precarious. Some conditions, such as Down's syndrome; characterised by the presence of an extra chromosome, are glaringly obvious. Others have more subtle and complex genetic origins. Just as the invention of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases was followed by attempts at total eradication, our efforts to eliminate genetic characteristics may have permanent consequences. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has already been singled out as a potential target for the screening technology. The disorder, which is characterised by difficulties in communication and social interaction, and repetitive or stereotyped behaviours and interests, has a strong but elusive genetic basis. Intriguingly, there has been much speculation that the genes involved in the development of ASD may be linked to mathematical and scientific ability. The theory has roots in the overlap between certain useful aptitudes in technical professions, and behaviour typical of ASD. An obsessive attention to detail, the ability to understand predictable rule- based systems, 'systemising', and a narrow range of interests, are traits characteristic of both groups. Professor Baron Cohen of the University of Cambridge is a strong proponent of the idea, and has suggested that scientist couples are more likely to have children with the disorder. It's a compelling idea with intuitive plausibility, but the evidence isn't there (yet). Until we know better, perhaps restraint is needed in eliminating these potentially important genes from our gene pool. There has been speculation that Einstein and Newton were 'on the spectrum'- what if we inadvertently 'cured' the future world of similar talent? Will our descendants be less than human? Another candidate for remedy with reproductive technology is schizophrenia. The disorder affects cognition, and can lead to chronic problems with emotional responsiveness. The 1% prevalence of schizophrenia makes it an apt target for prevention. However, the globally consistent and high incidence of this disease may be an indicator of its association with advantageous genetic characteristics. The 'social brain hypothesis', the main theory to explain the evolution of schizophrenia, suggests that the human brain evolved to select for genes associated with schizophrenia in a trade for higher order cognitive traits. These include language and the ability to interpret the thoughts and emotions of others. Schizophrenia is the cost that humans pay for being able to communicate, and as such, the genes responsible may be an essential component of the human gene pool. As with ASD, the elimination of the disease may have unintended consequences, and permanently alter the social dynamics within our species. This mechanism, termed a 'heterozygote advantage', can arise from the benefits of carrying different forms of a gene, as opposed to two of the same variant, or 'alleles'. The phenomenon has been proposed for a wide variety of genetic diseases; however usefulness is often dependent on environmental context. Because human lifestyles have diversified to such an extent from those of our ancestors, certain advantages may be outdated. The malaria protection conferred by carrying a single sickle-cell gene is hardly worth the risk of debilitating anaemia if you end up with two- especially in a modern world where anti-malarial medication is widely available. The systematic eradication of this disorder, and many others, will be a welcome and significant medical advancement. But caution is needed. Following a recent project to build a comprehensive map of the functional elements in the human genome, ENCODE, a function was assigned to 80% of our DNA sequence. However, our genomes are still poorly understood. Many sequences are multi-functional, and knowledge of mechanisms of gene expression is essential to any meaningful model. We urgently need a regulatory framework for the use of procedures such as pre-natal screening, and to exercise restraint in gene eradication. A detailed assessment and forecast of the long- term consequences is essential before a potentially corrosive procedure become entrenched in modern society. The alternative: we might just end up domesticating ourselves. DNA image: Altered from original by Sponk on Wikimedia Commons.
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