One could argue that these questions apply to normal ("human") child bearing, too. Granted, we haven't already been made extinct...but there are some analgoies. Not that I'm all for bringing to life a Neanderthal...just saying you would have to weight the advantages, disadvantages and moral/ethical issues, all of which certainly aren't clear right now.
children aren't typically brought into the world to serve as science experiments. there is no loving unit ready to take this child in. it is being created to be poked, proded and studied.
Maybe, maybe not. There is no reason there couldn't be a loving unit to take care of it, while it was also experimented on...which, when you think about it, is a lot better than a lot of kids destiny these days. All I'm saying is that I don't see how one can make a decision on a undertaking like that right now.
Technically it would not be human, since it is a different species (Homo neanderthalensis vs. Homo sapiens). Currently Homo sapiens quite often bring the children of different species; even the most closely related currently existent ones like Pan paniscus (Chimpanzee) or Gorilla gorilla (Gorilla) into this world as science experiments or to be used in science experiments.
If Neanderthals can be brought back (somatic transfer?), then it's also likely the primate cloning barrier would be broken since the physiology is very similar. The first batch of cloned humans would definitely be experimental procedures for fine tuning the process. As for who would want to adopt a caveson, probably hyperactive HS coach bent on reliving his glory years.... Neanderthals can most likely interbreed with humans. That would probably afford neanderthals equal rights since its mixed children's rights could be retroactively applied onto the parents. While some of the children could possibly be sterile, our society doesn't remove rights for sterile couples.
what you just said is what bothers me about it. because people would use the "technically" argument to treat this creature like a freak show. which is exactly what it would be in a world where it's already extinct. JayZ -- i don't believe it's a good idea to create a creature like this merely for the point of studying it. a creature that we've never interacted with before which is "almost" human. you'd have freaks like me going PETA on their ass. it's unconscionable to me. what if the "creature" doesn't submit to your testing...your poking and prodding. does it have the right to walk away to pursue freedom and happiness, like the rest of us?
I personally think that if any such thing were to happen, the results would be bad. No way would a created, not fully human life be treated equally. If it were to remain in a science lab it would be studied and testes in inhumane ways (extreme conditions to test adaptability, intelligence, etc.). It would not be that important about killing because a new one could always be made. Life most definitely as a commodity. The human animal can be a nasty one and when face to face with an "almost but lesser" animal I see a lot of potential for cruelty. After thousands of years of slavery being normal (and only a few hundred years removed for most of the world) I would not trust us to do anything like this well or "in the right way" (the right way is obviously not to do it).
dang it KingCheetah, MeggoLeggo, and Swoly-d... I am WAY too late for the Geico commercial cracks... As for the question at hand, I've got to agree with what's been said so far...I can't see why they would bring a neanderthal into this world besides as a flex of scientific muscle. I don't know what kind of rights he/she would have considering this would be unprecedented (anyone know anything bout test tube kids rights? semi-related?) As for an advantage to bringing a neanderthal into the world...we could better understand certain aspects of DNA and our own genome if we had the complete sequenced genomes of the new neanderthals and could study patterns concerning their DNA sequences and expressed features in the neanderthals. Perhaps, certain traits are expressed very obviously in the neanderthals that have similar sequences in the human genome and we could find something out about ourselves? (Sorry just science nerd rambling)
