Friday, March 20, 2009

Why Are We Doing That?

Because We Can.
That seems to be the pervading argument lately.
Science should never be limited, or stopped. Not, is it right, good, fair - but, will it bring us profit, answers, health... Progress at all costs. The end justifies the means.
It's just not true.
There are times when we need to pause and let ethics catch up to us.
i read this article today:
Sixty years ago, 23 German doctors and medical staff sat in the dock in the city of Nuremberg, charged with crimes against humanity. In his eloquent opening address, the American prosecutor, Telford Taylor, said that the world must not forget their atrocities:
"These defendants did not kill in hot blood, nor for personal enrichment... Most of them are trained physicians and some of them are distinguished scientists. Yet these defendants, all of whom were fully able to comprehend the nature of their acts, and most of whom were exceptionally qualified to form a moral and professional judgment in this respect, are responsible for wholesale murder and unspeakably cruel tortures. It is our deep obligation to all peoples of the world to show why and how these things happened... The perverse thoughts and distorted concepts which brought about these savageries are not dead. They cannot be killed by force of arms. They must not become a spreading cancer in the breast of humanity."

(The full article can be found by clicking on the above link...)
i think we're there again.
i've heard the argument, "God gave us the ability to think, problem solve and to achieve these scientific goals."
Was that His goal? That we would bow down to the god of science and medicine. Giving all our worldly goods, rejecting the Creator for the created, sacrificing our children?... Sounds familiar... molech, baal, chemosh...
i've heard the argument, "Those embryos are being used to save lives."
How far can we carry that logic? How can we begin to measure one life against another? How can we argue that because one is weak and vulnerable, it's expendable?
i've heard the argument, "Those embryos would have just been flushed anyway."
Should we not then, take a look at our fertility clinics, and the ethics of fertility treatments before we strive to make a profit from the loss of a life?
i know - this post sounds a bit harsh... i don't want to be harsh - but the thought of my children asking me, "Why didn't your generation stand up and say anything?" haunts me.
When i think of the people who profited from slavery, from the holocaust, from the oppression and manipulation of others - i see my generation... sitting by and applauding a president who decided we're not going to hold back on human embryonic stem cell research anymore.
North America has taken a stand on the value of human life.
It's just not one that i agree with.

3 comments:

jessica jespersen said...

Put my name on that letter too and add a little more horseradish. -j

Mindy said...

Well said. I agree with you completely. And I agree with what another commenter said...you should write a book.

Anonymous said...

This is one I've always struggled with - not that I think abortion should ever be an option - don't get me wrong. But if that child has been aborted why not create something good from evil? Why not give another child a chance to live again from the child who never had that chance themselves? I don't agree with them doing abortion ever - and certainly not just for the right to have some "material" to work with!- but can we not make something good come out of the little lives who never had a chance? I know - I opened a can of worms :-0 But it is something I wonder.

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