Could Bioethics and Legal Relativism Lead to Cutting Off the Limbs of "Amputee Wannabes"?
As I mentioned a week or so ago, there is an obscure mental disease in which victims become obsessed with becoming amputees. As I write in this Center for Bioethics and Culture newsletter, some are now calling for the right of doctors to fulfill the wishes of these "amputee wannabes" by cutting off healthy limbs. But isn't acceding to mental illness a form of abandonment? Unfortunately, as I demonstrate, the currents of bioethics and jurisprudence could lead to doctors being able to legally maim people--all in the name of "choice."
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 2:50 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
2 reactions -
One humorous. Of course the image that comes to mind is the Black Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail. Perhaps he is the patron saint of those suffering from “Body Integrity Identity Disorder” (BLACK KNIGHT: Oh. Oh, I see. Running away, eh? .. Come
back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!
Second - my adopted granddaughter did have both legs amputated at the knee at just a few months of age due to profound malformation of her lower leg bones and feet (drug induced birth defect. She is now walking with her new prosthetic legs and just recently SHOES!
This is miles away from choice / enhancement philosophy. While BIID is but one logical extreme of such philosophy. The transhuman advocates pretend not to see a clear cut (pun intended) division between remediation and enhancement but of course it's usually common sense, probably the easiest part of a medical treatment.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home