Martine Rothblatt

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Martine Aliana Rothblatt Ph.D, MBA, J.D. (born 1954 as Martin Rothblatt) is a transgendered American lawyer, author, and entrepreneur. Rothblatt graduated from UCLA with a combined law and MBA degree in 1981, then began work in Washington DC, first in the field of communication satellite law, and eventually in life sciences projects like the Human Genome Project.

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[edit] Communications satellites

Rothblatt is responsible for launching several communications satellite companies, including the first nationwide vehicle location system (Geostar, 1983), the first private international spacecom project (PanAmSat, 1984), the first global satellite radio network (WorldSpace, 1990), and the first non-geostationary satellite-to-car broadcasting system (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1990). As an attorney-entrepreneur she was also responsible for leading the efforts to obtain worldwide approval, via new international treaties, of satellite orbit/spectrum allocations for space-based navigation services (1987) and for direct-to-person satellite radio transmissions (1992).

[edit] Life sciences

In the 1990s, Rothblatt entered the world of the life sciences by leading the International Bar Association's biopolitical project to develop a draft Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights for the United Nations (whose final version was adopted by the UNESCO on 11 November 1997, and endorsed by the UNGA on 9 December 1998); and founding a medical biotechnology company (United Therapeutics, 1996).

[edit] Social activism

In 2004, Rothblatt launched the “Terasem Movement”, a transhumanist ethical school and movement focused on promoting joy, diversity, and the prospect of technological immortality. Through a charitable foundation, members of this movement convene publicly accessible symposia, publish explanatory analyses, conduct demonstration projects, issue grants, and encourage public awareness and adherence to Terasem values and goals. The movement maintains "Terasem Island" on the Internet-based virtual world Second Life.

[edit] Books

[edit] Films

  • TransBeMan, Transformer Films, 2008. The film is a philosophical techno-thriller set in the near-future that deals with the moral questions confronting society following the creation of the world's first posthuman.

[edit] Media appearances

On December 14th, 2006, on The Howard Stern Show, Stern mentioned meeting Martine Rothblatt, and started a discussion on the confusion of her gender, in which he referred to her as “the Martine Luther Queen of radio”. She later appeared on the show on March 1st, 2007, with her wife, Bina, and her youngest daughter, Jenesis. She also mentioned her other three children (from oldest to second youngest) Eli, Sunee, and Gabriel.

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