Human Cloning: Four Fallacies and Their Legal Consequences

Posted: 30 Nov 2017

See all articles by Kerry L. Macintosh

Kerry L. Macintosh

Santa Clara University - School of Law

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Since Dolly the sheep was born, controversy has swirled around the technology of cloning. We recoil at the prospect of human copies, manufactured men and women, nefarious impersonators, and resurrections of the dead. Such reactions have serious legal consequences: lawmakers have banned stem cell research along with the cloning of babies. However, what if our minds have been playing tricks on us? What if everything we thought we knew about human cloning is rooted in intuition rather than fact?

Human Cloning: Four Fallacies and Their Legal Consequences is a rollicking ride through science, psychology, and the law. Drawing on sources ranging from science fiction films to the Congressional Record, this book unmasks the role that psychological essentialism has played in bringing about cloning bans. It explains how hidden intuitions have caused conservatives and liberals to act contrary to their own most cherished ideals and values.

Keywords: human cloning, stem cell, psychological essentialism, science fiction, law

Suggested Citation

Macintosh, Kerry L., Human Cloning: Four Fallacies and Their Legal Consequences (2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3069832

Kerry L. Macintosh (Contact Author)

Santa Clara University - School of Law ( email )

500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
United States

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