What are the ethical implications of a human head transplant?

 

Tuesday 02 July 2013 07:00 EDT
Comments
South Park's ManBearPig: "Half man, half bear, half pig"
South Park's ManBearPig: "Half man, half bear, half pig" (South Park)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Human head and brain transplants are now feasible. That's according to Italian neurosurgeon, Sergio Canavero who believes he has worked out how to transfer the head of one human on to the body of another.

While his method for "Head Anastomosis Venture" or HEAVEN, as he terms it, is ready to be tested on humans, Canavero admits he has not yet considered the ethical implications. Luckily for us, science fiction has already done the hard work for him:

1. South Park, 2006

South Park's ManBearPig: "Half man, half bear, half pig"

 

Former US President Al Gore becomes obsessed with finding and defeating 'ManBearPig', a monster that's "half man, half bear and half pig."

Unforeseen Consequence: The constant, unwanted presence of Al Gore

2. The Man With Two Brains, 1983

Steve Martin in The Man With Two Brains

 

After falling in love with a disembodied brain, Dr Michael Hfuhfuhrr (Steve Martin) goes to extreme lengths to find his love a new host body.

Unforeseen Consequence: Murder and body-snatching

3. Freaky Friday, 1976

Jodie Foster in Freaky Friday

 

Ellen Andrews and her teenage daughter Annabel are always arguing. That is, until one Friday the 13th, when they switch bodies and gain some much-needed insight into how the other feels.

Unforeseen Consequence: Improved inter-generational understanding

4. Eva, Peter Dickinson, 1988

Eva
Eva

When a 13-year-old girl is paralyzed in an accident her consciousness is transferred into the body of a chimpanzee. Luckily she grew up surrounded by the chimps in her father's research facility, so she finds it easy to accept the chimp part of herself.

Unforeseen Consequence: Salvation of the chimpanzee species

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in