Washington Metro Objectivism Discussion (WMOD)

                 Sunday, July 28, 2002
 
            Should Human Reproductive Cloning be Legal?

                       By Jan Helfeld
                   
The House of Representatives passed a bill making human reproductive cloning 
illegal. The President is in favor of making it illegal. Some people in the 
libertarian party are in favor of making it illegal. Is criminalizing human 
reproductive cloning  a violation of our individual rights? 

What is human reproductive cloning? Are cloned babies exactly the same as 
their genetic donor? Is it likely that human reproductive cloning will 
produce dead and or deformed babies? What is the latest information 
from animal reproductive cloning experiments? Who should assess the risks and 
decide whether to have a cloned baby: the mother and father of the baby or 
the government? What are the arguments in favor and against human cloning?

There will be ample opportunity at the end of the talk for questions and 
comments from those that disagree with the Jan's views. 

Jan Helfeld is an attorney who is now active in property development
and TV  interviewing.  He is attempting to introduce the Socratic technique 
in the field of public policy interviewing.  He has produced the following 
three documentaries, The Proper Function of Government; the Media Against 
Business and the Socratic Technique including interviews of many U.S. 
senators, U.S. Congressman, and high-profile TV journalists like Mike 
Wallace, Ted Kopple, Cokie Roberts and others.

Jan sponsors a weekly Objectivist discussion group and a monthly Socrates 
cafe meeting. You can contact him at JanHelfeld@aol.com. 

        WHEN AND WHERE IS THE WMOD MEETING?

Please join WMOD on Sunday, July 28.  Anyone who is
interested in rational discussion of Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome.
There will be a $2 charge for the talk if you are not having 
dinner. Note that our meeting location is Metro accessible.  You can
either join us for drinks at 5:30 or for dinner at 6:00 PM or for
the talk at 7:00 PM at the Hunan Palace in Rosslyn, VA
just across the Key Bridge from Georgetown.  The street address is
1812 North Moore Street.  If you come by Metro, get off at the
Rosslyn Metro Exit and the Hunan Palace is only a few feet away.
Take the street exit on N. Moore Street (across street from Roy
Rogers/Burger King), go out of Metro and take a left, and the
Palace is a few feet down N. Moore Street.  If you drive, there is
a parking garage (Allstate) next door to the Palace that is free
weekends, or weekdays after 6:00 PM.  There will be a $15 fixed price
dinner (including tax and tip), or you can order from the menu. 
 
Please RSVP to WMOD at (703) 820-7696 before noon on the day of
the meeting so that we can tell the restaurant how many tables to
set up and how many to expect for dinner.  For more information,
call the Hunan Palace at (703) 528-8188, or call David Saum
at (703) 820-7696 (W) or (703) 671-5119 (H).  

                  FUTURE MEETINGS

WMOD meetings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each
month.  We are always looking for new stimulating meeting topics
related to Objectivism.  Please contact WMOD if you have
suggestions for meeting topics and locations, or if you can
volunteer some time to arrange meetings.

                   CALENDAR

Weekly on Thursdays: Objectivist discussion group meeting  at
7:00PM at La Madelaine Restaurant - Baileys Crossroads,  at the
corner of Route # 7 and Columbia Pike next to Borders Books.
Contact Jan Helfeld: JanHelfeld@aol.com

Every Monday: Socrates Cafe philosophic discussion group meeting,
at 7:00PM at Borders Books, second floor, at Bailey's Crossroads, 
VA. Contact Jan Helfeld: JanHelfeld@aol.com

        The Objectivist Center (formerly IOS) events
http://www.objectivistcenter.org

         GMU Objectivist Club Events
http://www.gmu.edu/org/objectivist/upevnts.htm

        Cato Institute Events
http://www.cato.org/events/calendar.html

        Free-Market.Net Calendar
http://www.free-market.org/directory/events/

       Future of Freedom Foundation Events
http://www.fff.org/events/events.htm
         
       Institute for Humane Studies
http://www.theIHS.org/
  
(please let WMOD know about other events that we should list) 
                
               WMOD Contact Information

Contact:
  Dave Saum
  WMOD
  PO Box 8007
  Falls Church, VA 22041
    Email: DSaum at infiltec.com
    Phone: (703) 820-7696
    Fax: (703) 671-9350
    Web: http://www.infiltec.com/wmod.htm

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