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RgrF wrote:
Unless I'm mistaken, some medical advances developed by barbaric Nazi practitioners during the war era were later found to be acceptable effective and then incorporated into western medical practice.
You are not mistaken. The US took deliberate steps to recruit NAZI scientists, doctors and engineers in Operation Paperclip. That group included the Surgeon General of the Reich Walter Schreiber and his deputy Dr. Kurt Blome; both were biological warfare researchers who used research from human experiments at Dachau concentration camp. There were numerous others including Sigmund Rascher, an SS doctor who froze inmates to see if he could wake them.
There were numerous medical advancements from the research, but it all came from ugly, horrendous beginnings.
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That is what I meant by exploitation. It might not be the best word, but much of what I was thinking was subsequently thought of by others, so I think communication occurred. I was saying that it is an issue that is worthy of debate, and it seems no one is disagreeing.
One more thought is that even if the greater good is served, basic human rights can conflict. There is a limit what you can do to the "few" in order to benefit the "many". As far as comparing it to other situations, I think this is a little different in that we're still using her exact cells.
I think it's debatable enough to withhold harsh judgement of those who decide it's wrong (which I already said). I think it's worth considering that the acceptance of the products of exploitation (violation of rights for other's benefits?) might encourage future exploitation if the payoff is perceived to be great enough. Most people don't want that.
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Has nothing to do with what "they want", once the toothpaste is out of the tube it's not going back. Scientific inquiry, weather done ethically or not, will continue and the results will come to light.
Imposing religious "morality" on scientific research borders on medieval thought.
