GE Free NZ Declaration on the Preservation of the Human Species

In a submission on the Ministry for the Environments discussion paper on the Hazardous Substances and New Organism Act GE Free NZ (in food and environment) published their Declaration for the Preservation of the Human Species today. This declaration calls for the banning of human cloning and inheritable genetic modification along with the need for the effective regulation of all other human genetic technologies. (The Declaration is included below).

GE Free NZ spokesperson on Transhuman Eugenics Tremane Barr explained that they developed the New Zealand version of this declaration from the original developed in America. [1] The original version was the product of many people, including the participants at a September 21-22, 2001 conference at Boston University on “Beyond cloning: Protecting Humanity from Species-Altering Procedures.” The final treaty language developed there was the subject of a roundtable that concluded the conference. [2]

“We are using this declaration as an opportunity to promote a ban on human cloning and inheritable genetic modification and further civil society debate on the issues surrounding human genetic modification and assisted reproduction using the new genetic technologies” said Tremane Barr.

In their submission GE Free NZ call for a public enquiry to be held by the Bioethics Council and the Ministry of Health to help educate the public on the issues surrounding these new genetic technologies.

“The public need to know what is happening with these new technologies so that they can be involved in forming ethically, morally and spiritually acceptable law to regulate their use. However, we cannot see anything appropriate in human cloning and inheritable genetic modification and just want to see them banned outright as soon as possible.”

“Civil society needs to wake up to the fact that scientists have taken us to the edge of a very dangerous precipice in developing technologies that can give rise to a eugenics nightmare with the potential creation of a master race if not entirely new species of human beings.”

“We agree with Richard Hayes when he stated in the July/August 2002 edition of the WORLD WATCH magazine: “Humanity needs a crash course in the science and politics of the new human genetic technologies. We need to distinguish benign applications from pernicious ones, and we need to adopt policies affirming the former and proscribing the latter. We need to repudiate eugenic political ideologies and deepen our commitment to the integrity of the human species and the dignity of all people.” [3]

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