I’m sure that it was the former and not the latter. She was very much aware that consent was required.
Keep in mind that a lot of people have very cautious (and even downright frightened) notions about science. When some people hear, “The donated tissues may be used in scientific research”, all of a lifetime’s amalgamation of denotations and connotations of the phrase “scientific research” come to mind. To them, scientific research happens in scary laboratories where cosmetic companies test mascara and lipstick on the eyeballs of frightened bunnies. They may think of laboratory mice intentionally developed to lack immune systems and then to get infected with painful diseases. Some will even recall old horror films with the classic Van de Graaff generator, Jacob’s Ladder voltage arcs, and Frankenstein’s monster. I’m NOT trying to be funny! People bring up Frankenstein quite often in the context of ethics and science discussions. Once again, emotions happen. (I’m also not trying at all to belittle people’s emotions. I’m just saying that emotions can come up in ways which I least expected.)
Another example comes to mind. I remember some years ago when there was a discussion of whether or not medical science should utilize in any way the data sets collected by Nazi scientists in the concentration camps, often at tremendous pain to their human subjects. (No, I’m NOT trying to sneak in a tangential political argument which equates fetal tissue donation with Nazi horrors as in the Reductio ad Hitlerum logical fallacy. I’m simply illustrating how people can respond with unpredictable and totally opposite emotions to the same scientific scenario.) These two very typical responses fascinated me:
(1) “Those innocent persons’ sufferings shouldn’t be for naught. Rather than be forgotten, their horrors should at the very least be allowed to contribute to the health and welfare of present and future generations, perhaps even their own descendants!”
(2) “How dare anyone think of any benefit coming from such evil horrors! If a doctor told me that some scientific product which came about from such terrible suffering, even if to cure my cancer and to save my life, I would say without hesitation that I want nothing to do with it! Let me die and keep my dignity! I couldn’t live with myself if I had benefited in any way from a Nazi atrocity!”
And that is why it horrifies me that hard-working scientists have to endure grandstanding by politicians pandering to voters back home instead of those politicians actually trying to understand the complex scientific topics being explained to them. I know that that is what a representative democracy requires and that the process is bound to be littered with the usual human foibles—but I’m annoyed that some of the least scientifically literate people are given massive decision making powers over scientific research.
Okay, then donations to a sperm bank would be really out-of-bounds because each ejaculation has the potential to be 1 billion human beings… Please continue the discussion and pardon me for the interruption.
Actually, to ignore the tongue-in-cheek and be hopelessly pedantic instead, that’s not actually technically true—since many sperm are known to provide “team work” to encourage an effective trip for the “winning” sperm. Also, many sperm are non-viable, and nowadays fertility rates are dropping to where one billion is becoming unusually generous!
okay how about we drop it to a million. Still a lot of potential people? Question: Since supposedly aborted tissue goes to heaven does sperm cells have souls?
The difference in the fetal tissue example is that there is consent. As far as bioethics goes, consent is a big deal. However, as you rightly point out there is an emotional and cultural impact to consider as well.
Totally agree. At the same time, scientists shouldn’t go against society and cultural values. Scientists should absolutely be engaged with the public, and public oversight is a necessity within the sciences. In order for this to work we need to start with the facts so that we can all make the best decisions we can.
In the future, there may be similar questions asked about embryos currently being stored in IVF clinics across the country. If parents consent, should those embryos be used for research instead of being discarded? Would such a policy scare many couples away from IVF procedures?
Please continue the discussion and pardon me for the interruption.
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