If you have the time, you should read Bill Joy’s famous essay in Wired mag 2000 “Why the future doesn’t need us“. It raised quite a stir as he detailed his concern over the convergence of technologies (genetic manipulation, nanotechnology and robotics). At a public event at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, when his colleagues were taking him to task on his luddite position, Joy, trying to make his case for the potential serious threat of these technologies said, “I guess we just need a demo”. Similarly, in the bioagenda today, there is no concern for what is called the pre-cautionary principle, exercising caution if threat or harm is unknown or uncertain. The british news is reporting on the death of one woman from Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and the many abuses of Romanian egg donors. How many more demos do we need?

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.