Over a million have hit a Web site where, thanks to a fashion photographer whose credits include television direction for Playboy, eight models are auctioning their eggs to parents wishing for the beauties among their babies.
Fox News and the Associated Press report there was no immediate tally of how many of those people bid on the eggs or were just curiosity-seekers. The models, whose photographs appear on < a href="http://www.ronsangels.com" target="new">www.ronsangels.com, are identified by number alone to non-members - you have to pay $24.95 to see the models in full and learn about them, though intelligence and education seem not to have been factors here.
And the bids begin at $15,000, reaching as high as $150,000.
Why this neo-Darwinist exercise?
"Beauty is its own reward," says Ron Harris, the fashion photographer who posted the Web site and auction, on the site. "This is the first society to truly comprehend how important beautiful genes are to our evolution. Just watch television and you will see that we are only interested in looking at beautiful people. From the network anchors, to supermodels that appear in most advertisements, our society is obsessed with youth and beauty. As our society grows older, we inevitably look to youth and beauty. The billion dollar cosmetic industry, including cosmetic surgery is proof of our obsession with beauty."
Harris also claims scientific evidence that babies would rather see a pretty face than an unattractive one.
"Beautiful people are usually given the job of selling to, and interacting with society," he continues. "This continues throughout our adulthood. The act of creating better looking, or in some organisms, better tasting offspring (known as Genetic Modifications), has been taking place for hundreds of years. All genetic modifications serve to improve the shape, color and traits of the organism. Every organism is evolving to its most perfect state. If you could increase the chance of reproducing beautiful children, and thus giving them an advantage in society, would you?"
Infertility groups, however, have expressed disgust at the offer, the AP says, saying it turns human life into a commodity.
The auction will last up to several months, with each model deciding how long the bidding for her eggs will go and what price should be accepted, the AP says. After a bid is finalized, the wire continues, both bidders and donors will be required to undergo medical tests and engage legal representation to draw up a contract for the sale.
Bidders also pay a 20 percent service fee to Harris's organization, which he says he will donate to children's charities.
Federal law forbids the purchase and sale of human organs, but trafficking in sperm and eggs is legal.
Harris tells the AP determining who is beautiful is "what I did all my life. That's my expertise.'' He says he plans an auction of male models' sperm, with bids from $10,000 to $50,000, and that society's obsession with appearance makes us stronger and healthier.
In addition to the medical community rejecting the idea of selling human body parts, the AP says, eBay, the world's leading Internet auction site, has banned the sale of eggs, sperm and human organs on its site.
