David, totally agree on the sticky question of who gets to decide what is ethical. But, respectfully, cochlear implants to help someone with hearing loss is a far cry from removing a healthy leg above the knee because someone thinks that leg is not a valid body part and it gives them nightmares. As a society, we must be able to have thes…
David, totally agree on the sticky question of who gets to decide what is ethical. But, respectfully, cochlear implants to help someone with hearing loss is a far cry from removing a healthy leg above the knee because someone thinks that leg is not a valid body part and it gives them nightmares. As a society, we must be able to have these conversations. As you say, we will soon have the technical capabilities to do many once-unthinkable things. But as Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) famously said in Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”
There are people among the deaf who believe that cochlear implants are just as wrong as removing a healthy leg.
How about you have a congenital defect such as some types of dwarfism and you can remove both "healthy" legs and give them the ability to walk and look like normal people.
Do we condemn people to life as a sideshow freak just because they are ostensibly healthy?
There will always be crazy people. There are always going to be people ostracized by being different from the norm. We are going to have to ask really hard questions about society and its effects on people beyond just the putative health of a patient. There are no easy answers.
David, totally agree on the sticky question of who gets to decide what is ethical. But, respectfully, cochlear implants to help someone with hearing loss is a far cry from removing a healthy leg above the knee because someone thinks that leg is not a valid body part and it gives them nightmares. As a society, we must be able to have these conversations. As you say, we will soon have the technical capabilities to do many once-unthinkable things. But as Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) famously said in Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”
There are people among the deaf who believe that cochlear implants are just as wrong as removing a healthy leg.
How about you have a congenital defect such as some types of dwarfism and you can remove both "healthy" legs and give them the ability to walk and look like normal people.
Do we condemn people to life as a sideshow freak just because they are ostensibly healthy?
There will always be crazy people. There are always going to be people ostracized by being different from the norm. We are going to have to ask really hard questions about society and its effects on people beyond just the putative health of a patient. There are no easy answers.