Fwd: Kansas Outlaws Practice Of Evolution

[Henk Vreekamp]

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Creationisme/ID nu wet in Amerikaanse deelstaat.


>Kansas Outlaws Practice Of Evolution
>November 28, 2006 | Issue 42•48
>
>TOPEKA, KS—In response to a Nov. 7 referendum, Kansas lawmakers passed
>emergency legislation outlawing evolution, the highly controversial process
>responsible for the development and diversity of species and the continued
>survival of all life.
>
>Lawmakers decried spontaneous genetic mutations.
>"From now on, the streets, forests, plains, and rivers of Kansas will be
>safe from the godless practice of evolution, and species will be able to
>procreate without deviating from God's intended design," said Bob Bethell,
>a member of the state House of Representatives. "This is about protecting
>the integrity of all creation."
>
>The new law prohibits all living beings within state borders from any
>willful adaptation to changing environmental conditions. In addition, it
>strictly limits any activity that may result in enhanced health or survival
>beyond the current average lifespan of their particular species.
>
>Violators of the new law may face punishments that include jail time, stiff
>fines, and rehabilitative education and training to rid organisms suspected
>of evolutionary tendencies. Repeat offenders could face chemical
>sterilization.
>
>To enforce the law, Kansas state police will be trained to investigate and
>apprehend organisms who exhibit suspected signs of evolutionary behavior,
>such as natural selection or speciation. Plans are underway to track and
>monitor DNA strands in every Kansan life form for even the slightest change
>in allele frequencies.
>
>"Barn swallows that develop lighter, more streamlined builds to enable
>faster migration, for example, could live out the rest of their brief lives
>in prison," said Indiana University chemist and pro-intelligent-design
>author Robert Hellenbaum, who helped compose the language of the law. "And
>butterflies who mimic the wing patterns and colors of other butterflies for
>an adaptive advantage, well, their days of flaunting God's will are over."
>
>Human beings may be the species most deeply affected by the new
>legislation. Those whose cytochrome-c molecules vary less than 2 percent
>from those of chimpanzees will be in direct violation of the law.
>
>Under particular scrutiny are single-cell microorganisms, with thousands of
>field labs being installed across the state to ensure that these self-
>replicating molecules, notorious for mutation, do not do so in a fashion
>benefitting their long-term survival.
>
>Anti-evolutionists such as Hellenbaum have long accused microorganisms of
>popularizing "an otherwise obscure, agonizingly slow, and hard-to-
>understand" biological process. "These repeat offenders are at the root of
>the problem," Hellenbaum said. "We have the fossil records to prove it."
>
>"No species is exempt," said Marcus Holloway, a state police
>spokesman. "Whether you're a human being or a fruit fly—if we detect one
>homologous chromosome trying to cross over during the process of meiosis,
>you will be punished to the full extent of the law."
>
>Although the full impact of the new law will likely not be felt for
>approximately 10 million years, most Kansans say they are relieved that the
>ban went into effect this week, claiming that evolution may have gone too
>far already.
>
>"If Earth's species were meant to change over successive generations
>through physical modifications resulting from the adaptation to
>environmental challenges, then God would have given them the genetic
>predisposition to select mates and reproduce based on their favorable
>heritable traits and their ability to thrive under changing conditions so
>that these advantageous qualities would be passed down and eventually
>encoded into the DNA of each generation of offspring," Olathe public school
>teacher and creationist Joyce Eckhardt said. "It's just not natural."
>
>Some warn that the strict wording of the law could have a deleterious
>effect on Kansas' mostly agricultural economy, since it also prohibits all
>forms of man-made artificial selection, such as plant hybridization,
>genetic engineering, and animal husbandry. A police raid on an alleged
>artificial-insemination facility outside McPherson, KS on Friday resulted
>in the arrest of a farmer, a veterinarian, four assistants, one bull, and
>several dozen cows.
>
>Agribusiness leaders, who rely on evolution science to genetically modify
>crops, have voiced concerns about doing business with Kansas farmers.
>
>"If Kansans want to ban evolution, that is their right, but they must
>understand that we rely on a certain flexibility in the natural order of
>things to be able to deliver healthy food products to millions of
>Americans," said Carl Casale, a vice president with the agricultural giant
>Monsanto. "We're not talking about playing God here. We are talking about
>succeeding in the competitive veggie-burger market."
>

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