Atlas Moral Acceptability poll 2.0

[Sol]

Strikethroughs for unacceptable, italics for usually unacceptable but justifiable under certain circumstances

this is a good format, mine:

Gay or Lesbian Relations
Having a baby outside of marriage
Sex between an unmarried man and woman
Divorce
Medical research using stem cells from human embryos
Polygamy
Polyamory
Cloning Humans
Doctor-Assisted Suicide
Suicide
Gambling
Abortion
Cloning Animals
Animal Fur
Married men and women having an affair
The death penalty
Medical testing on animals
Incest
Eating meat/Using animal products

I probably have the most complicated feelings about polygamy/polyamory--I think both are in theory acceptable, but have to be done in a way which is above the board and which takes care of and respects the emotional needs of the multiple partners. Considering how difficult this is to do in monogamous relationships, I'm not convinced that ethical non-monogamy is very practical, especially since I've seen some of these crummy dynamics play out in the relationships of people I know. I also sort of resent the way in which some polyamorous people frame their preferences as a "sexual orientation"--being polyamorous absolutely isn't, and that's just a self-serving framing to avoid taking responsibility for your romantic feelings.

I think euthanasia is moral only in cases of a clear terminal illness, and frankly I'm not sure I trust the current medical system to really be able to do in an ethical way. Suicide I don't really think falls under this header for me--it's simply very sad and should be prevented, but I don't judge people who commit suicide in moral terms.

Affairs are usually unethical except in cases of abuse or permanent debilitation (i.e. your husband has Alzheimers) that kind of rewrite the nature of a married couple's commitment.

[jaichind]

 Acceptable for all

[John Dule]

Why in the world should cloning humans be considered unacceptable?

Lots of reasons, the most important of which is that scientists and the institutions in which they are embedded have repeatedly proven themselves unworthy of trust. Maintaining strong and simple taboos around certain activities is just a good conservative precaution. Someone interested in making money will wear them down eventually, so there's no need to hasten our journey into the chaos of Gomorrah.

Besides, all of us read Frankenstein.

If you're talking about the COVID precautions, I'd amend your statement: scientists are trustworthy so long as they stay within the boundaries of their field. However, once they start commenting on matters of public policy, their lack of expertise actually dwarfs that of supposed "policy experts"-- no small feat.

If you're worried about scientists engineering human clones who are abused or denied human rights, I agree. However, that's not what the question asks. Taken in isolation, I see nothing morally wrong with using an existing person's DNA to create a genetically identical fetus. And remember, even if the fetus is identical at first, environmental factors will alter it to significantly distinguish it from the donor. At this point, you might as well claim that there's a moral argument against the existence of twins.

There isn't really a practical application for this at the moment, but it's not as objectionable as you're making it out to be.

[Big Abraham]

Why in the world should cloning humans be considered unacceptable?

We don't tolerate socks on Atlas, why should we tolerate them in real life?

[Schiff for Senate]

Gay or lesbian relations: Acceptable
Having a baby outside of marriage: Voted unacceptable, but could be acceptable in some cases
A romantic relationship between an unmarried man and woman: Acceptable
Divorce: Acceptable, of course
Medical research using stem cells from human embryos: Acceptable
Polygamy: Unacceptable
Polyamory: Acceptable, actually, though I'm obviously assuming this means an 'open relationship' and that everyone involved is fine
Cloning humans: Acceptable (as long as the person cloned consents)
Doctor-assisted suicide: Acceptable
Suicide: Acceptable
Gambling: Acceptable, probably
Abortion: Acceptable (as I've said, I'm a 'safe-legal-rare' guy on abortion)
Cloning animals: Acceptable (obviously...they pretty much all look the same anyway)
Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur: Voted unacceptable, and it almost always is
Married men and women having an affair: Unacceptable in the sense that it's not something I'm morally too good with, but acceptable inthat it's not that grave a sin. Voted unacceptable
The death penalty: Voted acceptable. Should be scaled down and only when there's a 1,000% guarantee the person being killed is guilty (and the crime would have to be big, like murder).
Medical testing on animals: Almost always unacceptable. Voted unaccpetable.
Incest: Unacceptable, obviously
Eating meat: Acceptable, even though I know how bad it is for health and for the animals, because it just tastes so good
Using animal products: Voted unacceptable but in retrospect it really depends on what animal product we're talking about

[buritobr]

For me, everything acceptable except cloning humans, death penalty and incest

[darklordoftech]

Everything Acceptable except for the death penalty and testing on animals.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Acceptable:

Gay or lesbian relations
Having a baby outside of marriage
Sex between an unmarried man and woman
Divorce
Medical research using stem cells from human embryos
Polygamy (I guess, when it goes both ways and it's not just men who have their "harems")
Polyamory
Doctor-assisted suicide
Suicide
Gambling
Married men and women having an affair (depends, when the spouse who has been cheated on was cheated on because he/she is generally behaving like an ass in the marriage it makes it more acceptable to me)
Eating meat
Using animal products


Undecided/didn't vote:

Abortion (depends on the circumstances)


Unacceptable:

Cloning humans (so far most cloned animals have suffered from health issues and a shortened lifespan and it's unethical to deliberately create life under these conditions)
Cloning animals (see above)
Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur
The death penalty
Medical testing on animals (might in some cases be unavoidable until alternative forms of testing can be found though)
Incest

[America Needs R'hllor]

Gay or lesbian relations: Acceptable. Bonus: thinking gay or lesbian relations are unacceptable is a morally unacceptable position that should be shunned in society.
Having a baby outside of marriage: Acceptable.
Sex between an unmarried man and woman: Acceptable.
Divorce: Acceptable, encouraged in certain circumstances.
Medical research using stem cells from human embryos: Acceptable.
Polygamy: Unacceptable, in that marriage between multiple partners shouldn't be allowed, especially since it'll usually be the religious kook exploiting type.
Polyamory: Acceptable.
Cloning humans: Unacceptable, the implications would be too dangerous.
Doctor-assisted suicide: Acceptable in certain circumstances.
Suicide: Unacceptable in that everything should be done to prevent it, but 0 judgement for people who do that.
Gambling: Acceptable, discouraged in certain circumstances.
Abortion: Acceptable.
Cloning animals: Lean acceptable, but wary of the precedent.
Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur: Generally unacceptable but not going to die on that hill.
Married men and women having an affair: Unacceptable.
The death penalty: Unacceptable.
Medical testing on animals: Acceptable (cosmetic unacceptable).
Incest: Unacceptable.
Eating meat/Using animal products: Acceptable.