Campaign for the Rights of the Person
Transhumanism is, in part, a civil liberties movement with roots in the most fundamental demand of liberal democracy: sane, adult citizens have a right to control their own bodies and minds. Through the Self-Determination and Human Rights Program we seek to engage the human rights community, legal scholars, reproductive rights activists, the transgendered community and advocates of public health approaches to illict drugs in a campaign to deepen and radicalize the concept of human rights. In particular we believe that the right to technological self-determination should be protected by laws and treaties. We are working with the Transhumanist Law Network to devise the legal frameworks for this campaign.
Links
The Transhumanist Case for Technological Self-Determination
Citizen Cyborg. by James Hughes (WTA Executive Director). 2004. Westview Press.
Transhumanist Law Network For lawyers, law students and legal scholars who are members of the World Transhumanist Association
"In Defense of Posthuman Dignity" Nick Bostrom, Bioethics 2003.
"Saving Human Rights from the Human-racists" James Hughes, Betterhumans, June 21, 2003
"Cyborg Liberation Front: Inside the Movement for Posthuman Rights,"
by Erik Baard, Village Voice, July 30 - August 5, 2003.
Fight for Your Right to Die: We must repeal laws against euthanasia if we're to cope with such future realities as cryonics and extreme life extension," by George Dvorsky - Betterhumans - 3/30/2003
Arguments for a Right to Technological Self-Determination for...
...The Physically Disabled
...Human Rights Activists
...Drug Law Reform Advocates
...Women’s & Repro Rights Advocates
...Scientists & Health Workers
...LGBTQIA
...Ecologists
...People of Faith
...Children and Families
...Cognitively/Mentally Disabled
...Senior Citizens
...Anti-racists
...Citizens in Developing Countries
Human Rights Movement
Amnesty International The pre-eminent worldwide lobby for human rights
Witness Using video and other technologies in the fight for human rights
The Human Rights Connector
Organizations Defending Technological Self-Determination
Rights to Assistive Technologies
Alliance for Technology Access
Internatinal Center for Disability Resources on the Internet
Also see Human Enhancement Resources for the Physically Disabled
Rights to Therapeutic and End-of-Life Technologies
Alcor The largest cryonics firm
World Federation of Right to Die Societies
World Medical Association which is active in promoting ethical guidelines for medical research on human subjects
Rights to Use Reproductive Technologies
International Planned Parenthood Federation
Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
Also see Human Enhancement Resources for Reproductive Rights Advocates
Rights to Use Cognitive Technologies
Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics
Drug Policy Alliance
Also see Human Enhancement Resources for Drug Law Reform Advocates
Rights to Gender Re-Assignment Technologies
National Transgender Advocacy Coalition
International Foundation for Gender Education
Transgender Law and Policy Institute
Also see Human Enhancement Resources for LGBTQ Community
Technological Self-Determination Resources
Review of International Laws Restricting Cloning and Germline Genetic Engineering Center for Genetics and Society
"Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights" Adopted by UNESCO's General Conference in 1997
Videos from the Issues For the Millennium: Cloning and Genetic Technologies" Conference" Mostly bioLuddite, but includes comments from Lee Silver
"Pharmacotherapy and the Future of the Drug War" A report by the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics
How to complain to the UN Human Rights Treaty System" Bayefsky.com provides an easy-to-use guide for making a complaint to the UN human rights treaty bodies on civil and political rights, discrimination against women, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and racial discrimination.
BioConservative Efforts to Limit Technological Self-Determination
- Center for Genetics and Society A central NGO in the campaign for international laws restricting genetic self-determination.
- US President's Council on Bioethics under the Chairmanship of Leon Kass has published a number of documents arguing for restrictions on human enhancement technologies, especially "Beyond Therapy".
- "Protecting the Endangered Human: Toward an International Treaty Banning Cloning and Inheritable Alterations (PDF) American Journal of Law and Medicine, 2002. Argues that cloning and germline modifications should be defined as "crimes against humanity."
- "The Man in the Moon, Immortality, and Other Millenial Myths:
The Prospects and Perils of Human Genetic Engineering George Annas, Emory Law Journal, 2000. In this essay
George Annas, co-founder of the nonprofit Global Lawyers and Physicians, argues for international
treaties banning or restricting "human replication cloning and genetic engineering... human/machine cyborgs,
xenografts, artificial organs, embryo research, and brain alterations".
