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A More Perfect Person: Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Cyborgs, Genes and Human Enhancement

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This course examines current legal and ethical debates surrounding human enhancement technologies. A panel of experts will discuss how emerging technologies such as interactive prosthetics and cyborg advances have changed the person-property continuum. This program will cover a myriad of legal and ethical questions arising from the human genome project, stem cell research, organ printing and nano-technologies. Participants will learn the sides of the current legal debate over a variety of fascinating issues, including: At what point does a human being become a machine? Can human gene sequences be patented and sold by companies? Can insurance companies discriminate based on genetic test results? In this course, lawyers will:

Understand the full range of legal and ethical issues arising from recent developments in human bio-technology.

Understand the legal debate concerning the commercialization of the human genome, stem-cell research and organ printing.

PRICE: $129.00


1:30-2:30pm		Person or Property? Which implants may cost a person their individual rights? What was once considered science-fiction is fast becoming reality. In this segment, lawyers will examine who owns and can profit from genetic testing, human tissue and organs? This section will explore some fascinating legal questions: Is it legal to combine human and animal DNA to create a super-pet (a chimera)? Can a person sell their organs or stem cells? Who owns discarded tissue and organs and genetic test results? What are the legal restrictions on stem cell research?
2:30-3:30pm		Genomics—Is it Legal to Change My Eye Color? In this segment, lawyer will explore interesting legal questions related to the human genome project and its medical and cosmetic applications. Some of the issues that will be addressed include: How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished—and should the law make such distinctions? Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder—and should the law forbid genetic modifications? Should people be legally allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic human traits such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability?

Jeffrey Stec

Jeffrey Stec, J.D. has been a licensed lawyer since 1992, having practiced in the area of complex-family matters, including estate, divorce, and child custody disputes. Jeff developed his collaborative skills by becoming a certified mediator and strategic planning facilitator, specializing in family issues. Jeff has developed an expertise in the collaborative resolution of disputes, and in addition to his work with The Likeable Lawyer, he is currently a sought-after consultant who works with non-profits and municipalities to fashion solutions to complex organizational and community issues. Jeffrey graduated with honors from the University of Michigan Law School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with high honors from the University of Michigan.

Sander Rabin

A former ophthalmic surgeon and biomedical patent attorney, Sander Rabin, MD, JD speaks, writes, and consults on the ethical, legal, and policy implications of human enhancement, artificial intelligence and transhumanism. He is the executive director of The Center for Transhuman Jurisprudence, Inc. a not-for-profit organization he founded, whose mission is to educate and empower people in making the choices that are and will be available to them in enhancing their minds, bodies, genomes, longevity, and progeny.

Linda Glenn

Linda MacDonald Glenn is an attorney, bioethics professor, and futurist. Her research encompasses the legal, ethical, and social impact of exponential technologies and "evolving notions of personhood." She holds appointments at the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical Center and California State University Monterey Bay. Linda is a Fellow at the Institute for Emerging Technologies, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and she has lectured at Singularity University. Linda pioneered in the area of bioethics law, with the U.S. Supreme Court, in Cruzan vs. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health, citing one of her cases. She has advised governmental leaders and agencies and published numerous articles including Ethical Issues in Transgenics and Genetic Engineering at Actionbioscience.org, Human-Machine Mergers (or the Cyborgs Cometh), Issues in Regenerative Nanomedicine and The Moveable Feast: Legal, Ethical and Social Implications of Converging Technologies On Our Dinner Tables. She has made numerous media appearances, including the History Channel, Science Channel, and NPR.

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