6 
that a gene be introduced into people that will detoxify 
the contaminant. Will we find it cheaper and easier to 
modify people to tolerate higher levels of environmental 
pollutants than cleaning up? There is already ample 
evidence to suggest the answer is yes. 
I fear these scenarios, not because tampering with the 
human genotype is a sin against God or an unnatural act. 
Rather, it is because humans have had a history of inventing 
very powerful tools and technologies without the wisdom to 
use them properly. I do not mean to impugn the motives or 
good intentions of any scientists. But history clearly shows 
us the misguided way scientists have acted because of their 
limited vision, their own self-interests and their ignorance. 
Let me illustrate the social context within which 
developing BNA technology must be assessed. Here are 
excerpts from three articles written by a nationally 
syndicated newspaper journalist in Canada. 
"In Man, God is striving, through the process 
of Evolution to isolate the seeds of Superman; 
and the birth o.f Superman will herald the dawn 
of heaven on earth. ... Eugenics, after years of 
vilification as Fascism's means to a master race, 
will be universally accepted as the expression 
of a civilized scientific faith in divine force." 
Vancouver Sun, August 12, 1977* 
"Why after 30 years of -welfare statism in the 
West, are the poor still with us? Because 
politicians define poverty as lack of money 
when in fact it is a congenital ailment." 
Vancouver Sun, September 13, 1977- 
"...geneticists are acquiring the means to 
transform men into leaders wise enough to 
become the founders of heaven on earth.... 
We are in a terrible left -liberal mess because 
we continue to breed like rabbits, ignoring the 
presence within us of a God who not only beseeches 
us, but gives us the means, to breed like super- 
men." Vancouver Sun, November 19, 1977. 
I needn't belabor the way that science affects people 
and the way research percolates often in unexpected ways 
through different areas of society. The question is what 
am I recommending? 
[Appendix A — 199] 
