Bene and Mal’s Bioethics

Step in to the Fun Kids lab and you're bound to find microbes Bene and Mal debating a bunch of bioethical dilemmas!

More From Bene and Mal’s Bioethics

Living Forever

We’d all love to live forever, wouldn’t we?

Or do you think it would get a bit boring?

Well, human beings seem to try very hard to stay alive as long as possible don’t they?We take medicines, replace broken hips and knees, use wooden legs, and have pacemakers to keep hearts ticking.

You could argue that’s not really trying to live forever – it’s just fixing broken bits.

But what if you could fix all the broken bits for years and years and years?

What if you had loads of stuff replaced and one day you woke up and it freaked you out being some kind of robot cyborg human.

i-robot

It may sound far-fetched but, if all of you was replaced, would point where you wouldn’t actually be human any more?

And then what if you don’t like not being a human and you get bored of living forever? It’s up to you what you put in your body isn’t it?

Well it might be your body but if you want to go back to the way you were then it’s someone else who has to take it all out! We have to rely on others to put this stuff in and out.

What if it goes wrong and it needs fixing?  Do you have to pay for repairs?

If you’ve got the cash you could even get some super enhancements. But what if you are poor?  Would only rich people get the choice of living forever?

There’s a lot to thing about and it shows that if we don’t think carefully about things then there’s a chance we can get things turning out in a way we don’t want.

It takes a bit of thought to really work out how we can best use the science and technology at our disposal to make sure it’s fair and in the best interests of everyone.

Click here for more bioethical dilemmas!

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Nuffield CouncilBene and Mal’s Bioethics series with support from Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Click here to find out more!

Bene and Mal’s Bioethics

Step in to the Fun Kids lab and you're bound to find microbes Bene and Mal debating a bunch of bioethical dilemmas!

More From Bene and Mal’s Bioethics