PC Magazine Calls For All, Both Small And Great To Receive Microchip Implant
Pastor Dale Morgan
*
PC Magazine Calls For All, Both Small And Great To Receive Microchip
Implant*
Should You Chip Your Children?
By Lance Ulanoff
PC Magazine
I'm surprised by both the debate over RFID (radio frequency
identification) and the technology's growing capabilities. RFID has been
a boon to corporations with large retail outlets, inventory rooms,
warehouses, and more. It's even beginning to bleed into public spaces
such as county beaches. Yet it seems all I hear is moaning about the
privacy and First Amendment implications. This is growing tiresome, and
it's time to set people straight.
RFID chips are a good idea. RFID chips that can help locate people and
objects are a better idea. RFID chips implanted in pets and people are
the best idea of all. Let me illustrate how committed I am to this idea.
I have two children, a boy and a girl. When my son was born 12 years
ago, the obstetrician asked within hours of his birth if I wanted to
have him circumcised. This is a common practice for boys, so I didn't
hesitate to say yes. Of course, it is a medical procedure, and in
hindsight, I wish I'd thought about it for more than 35 seconds.
Now imagine a world where the doctor had, instead, asked me if I wanted
my son "chipped." Here's how that conversation might have gone:
Doctor: "Mr. Ulanoff, it's a simple and virtually painless procedure."
Me: "You mean there's no cutting? No blood?"
Doctor: "Well, no. There is cutting and blood, but it's a small incision
and there's very little blood."
Me: "Sounds like it'll hurt my son."
Doctor: "We use a local anesthetic, and the RFID implant will mean your
child can be readily identified in the hospital."
Me: "What? Wait. Why would he need it here in the hospital? Are you
telling me that babies have been stolen from here?"
Doctor: "Ahem. Er, no. But in the extremely unlikely event that your son
is, uh, snatched, he would never make it through the hospital doors
because his chip would be synced with your wrist bracelet. If your child
left the building without you and your bracelet, which also has RFID, an
alarm would sound."
Me: "Um, well, 'chipping' him seems kind of extreme for tracking him
while he's in the hospital. I mean, he's only here a day and a half."
Doctor: "True, Mr. Ulanoff, but your son will benefit from the chip
after he leaves the hospital, as will you and your wife. This RFID chip
has GPS, a unique identifier, and near-field communication. There's even
talk of adding credit card info when he turns 21, so he can shop by
waving his arm over the check-out counter."—next: All that, in...my...son? >
Me: "All that, in...my...son?"
Doctor: "Yes. And with all of these technologies, you'll always know
where your son is, where he's going, and what he's doing. You'll
appreciate it even more when he becomes a teenager. If he tells you he's
at his friend Chuck's house, you can look at a Web site and see if he's
really there or if he's actually exiting a movie theater."
Me: "Seems a little like spying."
Doctor: "Trust me, Mr. Ulanoff. I have two teenage sons. Spying comes
with the territory."
Me: "Who else will be able to 'see' my son?"
Doctor: "Only the people you choose [[and the Department of Homeland
Security]]. You can block access to his unique ID. But if he can't be
found, then you can, for example, register his ID number with the
Department of Justice's Amber Alert program (www.amberalert.gov) to help
find him and bring him home."
Me: "Wow. So this can stay in his body for his whole life?"
Doctor: "Yes."
Me: "Won't it get infected or become uncomfortable?"
Doctor: "It's a medical-grade capsule, and it does not interact with
surrounding tissue."
Me: "But, Doc, he can have it removed at any time, right?"
Doctor: "Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's not easily removed, and
the scar might be larger than you or he really want."
Me: "I don't know. I like the idea of knowing where he is. If he gets
lost, this means I'll be able to find him. I remember being lost as a
kid. It was so scary. I wandered around crying."
Doctor: "Uh, yes, Mr. Ulanoff, but let's remember that this is about
your son. I need your permission. Keep in mind that 35 percent of
today's children get the implant and most before the age of 2."
Me: "I guess we should."
Doctor: "Yes, it's probably a good idea. Think of how much harder this
will be to do when your son is older."
Me: "Gotcha. Okay, put it in. Oh, and about the circumcision?"
Doctor: "Oh, Mr. Ulanoff, we stopped doing those years ago."