Cloning" Subject of Philosophy Symposium Saturday, April 17

SALISBURY, MD--Is it "Hello Dolly" and goodbye to old fashioned reproduction? Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned two years ago in Endinborough, Scotland, the debate over human cloning has intensified, raising age-old questions not just about the ethics of human reproduction but also the very meaning of the human condition.

On Saturday, April 17, in Devilbiss Hall Auditorium on the campus of Salisbury State University, this hotly contested issue will be the focus of the day long Philosophy Symposium. In the morning session, two nationally known speakers will address the topic: "Fabricated Humans: Should We Clone Ourselves?"

Dr. Glenn McGee comes from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics and has authored one of the latest and highly praised works on cloning, "The Perfect Baby: A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics." Dr. Stephen Post teaches in Case Western’s Reserve’s Center for Biomedical Ethics and has written extensively on the issue of cloning. A recent essay, "The Judeo-Christian Case Against Cloning," appeared in "America" magazine. Both speakers have won outstanding teaching awards at their respective universities.

An afternoon panel of respondents--Dr. Mark Holland from the Biology Department and Dr. Anna Marie Roos from the Honors Program at SSU and Dr. Claire Katz from the Philosophy Department at Washington College--will discuss the implications of the morning lectures and spark the public discussion that will follow.

The program begins at 9 a.m. with a continental breakfast and breaks for lunch (provided by the University) at around noon. The afternoon session gets underway at around 12:45 p.m. and continues until about 2:30 p.m. The public is cordially invited.

The program is sponsored by the Philosophical Society and the Philosophy Department at Salisbury Sate, along with the Fulton School of Liberal Arts, the Henson School of Science and Technology and the Bellavance Honors Program.

For further information, call the Philosophy Department at SSU at 410-334-3407.