3rd December 2007, 5:24 PM
Forced is a little much I think.
Here's my thing. Basically I wonder if it would be possible to have a type of surgery at birth or at least within the first year of birth that would essentially neuter the child, BUT, and this is important, is reversable at a much later stage in life. More than that, is reversable with as high a success rate as possible. I'm not expecting 100%, but in the 90's at least if it's going to pass with the populace. Further, the surgery itself, both at birth and later when it gets reversed, must be as safe as removing an appendix at least.
This is a high order. A chemical solution, such as maybe gene therapy, would work too but with the same requirements.
After this, the matter becomes making it not just socially acceptable but also standard procedure for doctors after a child is born. The parents will have the option to opt out and in the end it'll be treated by the public pretty much like male circumcition, only actually useful.
In the long run, what it means is no unwanted children for that kid, ever. The ONLY children that person can have when they grow up is the child they decide willingly to have by opting into the reversal procedure. Being fertile/verile would then be an opt-in feature rather than an opt-out, thus fixing a flaw in human adaptations, much like how certain high level admin options in Windows Vista are opt in now. All it would take is heavy research into such a method (though really science doesn't work too well that way, first random research into all sorts of medical things and then down the line someone thinks that this and that seemingly unrelated discovery can be used FOR this purpose, that said, nanotechnology is magic and solves everything) and some heavy social engineering. Um, not an easy task really. The big issue would be the people running around screaming that it's unnatural or is destroying our humanity. Well, maybe humanity isn't always going to be around and our best bet is to make sure we at least turn ourselves INTO the next step in nature's chain, and that is why we play chicken ball in the house.
Here's my thing. Basically I wonder if it would be possible to have a type of surgery at birth or at least within the first year of birth that would essentially neuter the child, BUT, and this is important, is reversable at a much later stage in life. More than that, is reversable with as high a success rate as possible. I'm not expecting 100%, but in the 90's at least if it's going to pass with the populace. Further, the surgery itself, both at birth and later when it gets reversed, must be as safe as removing an appendix at least.
This is a high order. A chemical solution, such as maybe gene therapy, would work too but with the same requirements.
After this, the matter becomes making it not just socially acceptable but also standard procedure for doctors after a child is born. The parents will have the option to opt out and in the end it'll be treated by the public pretty much like male circumcition, only actually useful.
In the long run, what it means is no unwanted children for that kid, ever. The ONLY children that person can have when they grow up is the child they decide willingly to have by opting into the reversal procedure. Being fertile/verile would then be an opt-in feature rather than an opt-out, thus fixing a flaw in human adaptations, much like how certain high level admin options in Windows Vista are opt in now. All it would take is heavy research into such a method (though really science doesn't work too well that way, first random research into all sorts of medical things and then down the line someone thinks that this and that seemingly unrelated discovery can be used FOR this purpose, that said, nanotechnology is magic and solves everything) and some heavy social engineering. Um, not an easy task really. The big issue would be the people running around screaming that it's unnatural or is destroying our humanity. Well, maybe humanity isn't always going to be around and our best bet is to make sure we at least turn ourselves INTO the next step in nature's chain, and that is why we play chicken ball in the house.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)