And furthermore, it is illegal to kill a dog or cat or anything.

As far as I am aware, murder is illegal, while killing animals is not.

And furthermore, it is illegal to kill a dog or cat or anything. They just make exceptions for cows and chickens because the majority of Americans like the way they taste. Not to say that Americans wouldn't like the taste of dog or cat if they tried it, but hey, nobody loves cows. They sure ain't man's best friend.

Of course, that's another debate entirely, but it is illegal to kill some animals.

Not hitting them with a car, but if you wanna kill and eat a cow, that's fine, whereas killing and eating your dog is illegal.

Off topic thing to think about: "Why is it illegal to kill a cow and eat it, but illegal to kill a dog and eat it?"

A dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

A dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Just wanna say that cattle have personalities too, it's just that most people never live close enough to them to find that out.

Sorry, I'll only be off topic one more time. I've raised cows. In fact, I just went outt o water them 10 minutes ago. Yes, they have personalities; I've come to the conclusion that, besides sheep, cows are THE dumbest animals on the planet.

Thank you.

I've come to the conclusion that, besides sheep and turkeys, cows are THE dumbest animals on the planet.

Thank you.

Turkeys will drown in the rain because they're too stupid to realize they can't breathe...

False.

Toastpaint...

But either way, there's no way a tiny, dividing ball of cells (which is what a fertilized egg is, long before it becomes a human) has a personality. Killing it is fine. Eating it is... odd, since it's probably too small even to see.

Genetic engineering can and probably will do amazing things, that is, if the bible belt pushers and the pansies up in Washington get over the fact that a dead fetus is just a fetus and that using it for science is better than wasting a perfectly good dead baby by way of the furnace.

I think you forgot that "killing" a fetus, since it's a lump of cells utterly devoid of a nervous system or any ability to have feelings, is about morally equivalent to killing a germ when you wash your hands.

As far as I'm concerned, the Catholic church has no more inherent merit associated with anything it says than anyone else. What is popular is not always right.

Yeah, but it's not like abortions aren't going to happen in back alleys even if you outlaw them. Making them legal just makes it easier to regulate.

Yeah, but it's not like abortions aren't going to happen in back alleys even if you outlaw them. Making them legal just makes it easier to regulate.

Anyway, toastpaint, since we're supposed to be talking about genetic engineering anyway.

Genetic engineering on humans just scares me. As long as it's something like removing cancer, I'm all for it. When it gets into removing those with disabilities or disfigurements for "the greater good", then I start getting nervous.

You wouldn't be removing the people themselves, just their genetic problems. If you found out your kid was going to have Down's syndrome or whatever, and were told it could easily be cured, wouldn't you do it?