LEGAL
Intertwined
with the ethical and social issues of human biological
research, are the legal issues that need to be examined.
An entire legal framework would need to be set up
to study issues such as cloning. Can cloning ever
be legalised in Singapore or for that matter in any
country. If yes, who can be cloned and under what
circumstances can cloning be allowed. What about cases
of cloning gone wrong? Who would be responsible? If
a child was born out of cloning without a father,
then current laws would need to be extensively modified
to cater to such a possibility. These are some of
the legal issues that need to be examined.
The
recent ban by the US government on cloning would probably
give rise to lawsuits being stirred up, while abortion
opponents, health advocacy groups and scientists keep
the issues alive.
It
is conceivable that in the future, your identity is
determined from your genetic material (body tissue)
rather than from conventional methods like fingerprints,
dental records, etc. This poses the legal issue of
your right to privacy of the information because your
tissue can easily fall into someone else's hands.
A strand of your hair or a flake of your skin is enough
to reveal your identity to those who have the means
We
will have to continue to evolve the legal framework,
put in place administrative measures, educate the
public and uphold professional ethics, says Singapore's
Environment Minister and Minister of State (Communications
and Information Technology), Mr Lim Swee Say.
