The Adoration of Jenna Fox Project
Creating My Own Society
By Joy P.
Bioethics
Brought to you by Emory University
and Emory Center for Ethics.
1. How would your society define being 'legally human'?
My society is very similar to the society in The Adoration of Jenna Fox in some ways, and different in others.
In my society, we would define being 'legally human' as being naturally born a flesh, blood, and bone human, with natural limbs and organs. In other words, they would have to have the features and traits of a human being. There is no official definition of a human being yet in the U.S., since we have not had to deal with problems like cloning.However, in my society, we would also make certain exceptions for people under certain circumstances, such as limb loss or life threatening accidents. In these special cases, our government grants permits to these people for artificial limb and organ replacement. This system of permits is similar to the point system in Jenna's society.
Bio Gel exists in our society, like in Jenna's, and although it is prohibited for usage in any situation, our government is working to make it legal in life saving treatments.
Cloning is illegal and is prohibited in our society, and the creation of new bodies for people, animals, or plants is against the law as well. Cloning is illegal in the U.S. as well. Leon Kass, a conservative bioethicist, has stated in a debate about the topic that "the programmed reproduction of man will, in fact, dehumanize him."
Cloning
Cloning is illegal in my society, the U.S. society, and Jenna's society.
Regulation
My society, like Jenna's society and the U.S. society, has many committees, agencies, and boards to regulate the medical laws.
Law and Punishment
My society doesn't believe in the death sentence. However, we use different forms of punishments, such as life time imprisonment and heavy fines.
2. How would your society regulate the laws concerning bioethics?
-The Federal Board of Medical Science (FBMS) is in charge of monitoring all advancements in medical science and technology. They then compare the pros and cons of it, the benefits and risks, to decide whether it should be allowed or not.
- The Committee of Medical Safety (CMS) is in charge of monitoring all events in medical science and technology currently in use. They check for risks to people and the environment caused by medical technology. For example, some medicines cause a severe allergic reaction in the human cells long after it was administered to the patient. The CMS then works to eliminate the risk for the benefit of both people and the environment.
-The Medical Law Enforcement Agency (MLEA) is a group of agents specially chosen by the government. They monitor and patrol all the hospitals and medical science research centers, checking to see if all laws are followed. They then report back to the government.
- The Federal Board of Medical Law (FBML) is in charge of collecting all the data collected by the FBMS, the CMS, and the MLEA and writing new laws. One branch of this board writes the laws, and the other branch approves the laws. This system is similar to the three branches of the U.S. government, where the branches can check the powers of the other two if they disagree.
3. What would the consequences be if someone broke these laws?
In my society, the punishments range from tickets to fines to jail time. My society doesn't believe in the death sentence, unlike many societies in the world today, including the state of Texas. In the state of Texas, you need to commit murder to be sentenced the death penalty. You also have to be at least 18 years of age.
Many in my society say that the guilty would never be truly punished in death, but would actually escape all punishments. We use lifetime sentences in prison instead, and the prisoners also help the community by working in the crop in the fields in the countryside, monitored by government officials. This is similar to community service in the U.S., which can be done voluntarily or ordered by the court as a sentence.
Resources
Sites: Dictionary.com
Michigan State University- www.bioethics.msu.edu
Google Search
Wikipedia
Google Images
Youtube