Mississippi: Egg + Sperm = Person?

Ever have a topic that you hope no one asks you about because you’re not really sure how you feel concerning the subject? Or better still, ever have a subject that you know exactly where you stand concerning the issue, yet you know your position will start a huge battle that will eventually end a relationship? Been there, both situations. I tend to see myself as a moderate with leftist leanings; somewhat fair and balanced. Others tend to see me as a dick. Sometimes middle ground is hard to find.

When I read an article about how Mississippi’s Republican Governor, Haley Barbour, was supporting an amendment to the state’s constitution supporting the claim that life begins at the moment of fertilization, I found myself having to reevaluate how I felt about abortion. So after some consideration, I came to the conclusion that how I feel about abortion is less a discussion for a web-posting and more a discussion to have over coffee. The me of just 5 years ago would have never copped-out like that, but the me of now realizes that there’s a whole lot of grey when it comes to the bioethical considerations of when and how life emerges.

I did do some research, though, about the abortion laws in both Kentucky and Indiana. And I also pondered my attitudes about this sentence in the news story:

“[Mississippi] Initiative 26 would define personhood as ‘every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof’.”

I hate when people use the c-word. My Christian-programmed brain is definitely atypical in discussions of morality…but clones!?

It just so happens that Kentucky and Indiana both have cloning legislation to some degree too. Which is good because, if I could, I would clone the hell out of myself. There would be Michaels everywhere. Driving a TARC bus? Michael. Eating at Hot Diggity Dog? Michael. Simultaneously eating at Mimosa Cafe? Still Michael. Just passed you on the interstate on my way to crash Space Camp? You betcha. I have always wondered what it would be like to be a duodecuplet. You can never have too much of a good thing.

So when does life begin, and how do we know for certain when that time is? And are clones really “real” people? What constitutes a “real” person?

Can these questions ever truly be answered?

-Michael M.

Bioethics & Medical Humanities…that sounds…what is it again?

When I tell people that I am in the University of Louisville BETH program, there is this instant flash of confusion that can exist in or out of the presence of polite terror. The confusion is that—being a relatively young field—people aren’t familiar with the concepts of BETH. Now: the terror is something completely different. The terror comes when people immediately regret asking what I’m studying. Around the third syllable of Bioethics, I notice that people tend to glaze over. It is akin to Joe asking George about his day.

“How are you today?” smiles George.

Preoccupied, Joe replies with a non-trite answer.

“Now that you ask, George, my new puppy has parvovirus, so I am afraid that he might be dead when I get home.”

Poor Joe and his puppy problems.

Horrified, George just keeps walking with his same 09:15 AM smile and makes a mental note to just smile at Joe from here on out.

As far as it goes with Bioethics and the Medical Humanities, it’s just about orienting yourself with the terminology. Bioethics is defined as the ethics of biological and medical research. That’s it. Cut and dry. If you poke around on the Internet, you will find competing versions of that what bioethics truly is. I like the aforementioned definition because it is succinct. The medical and biological fields are fraught with ethical dilemmas. Organ harvesting and donation; genetic counseling as a preventative measure in family planning; stem cell research and cloning; dealing with terminal illness and death and dying; public health outreach to minorities; religious and personal reservations that affect long-term care plans; and just about anything you can name that can be thought of as controversial can probably find a seat at the table of bioethics.

There is a great quote about the discipline from Orrin Hatch. Hatch is a Republican senator from Utah. Concerning stem cell research, he says:

“I understand that many have ethical and moral reservations about stem cell research, but for the same reason I describe myself as pro-life, I embrace embryonic stem cell research because I believe being pro-life is not only caring for the unborn but also caring for the living.”

Think about what Hatch is saying in this passage. He asserts himself as:

1) Knowledgeable about the controversy of stem cell research

2) Opposed to abortion

3) A proponent of using embryos for medical research

Knowing the little bit we know from the introduction given about who Hatch is, are any of these three points incompatible with the other? If so, why? Answering those questions is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to applying bioethics to healthcare controversies. And what we do as bioethicists and students training in the field is try to define why something is “right” or “wrong” with the knowledge that far less than 1% of such topics will ever have definite answers. Of course, that’s the fun of the discipline, too.

–Michael M.

Welcome to the University of Louisville Bioethics Blog

The UofL Bioethics blog is a student-led and moderated blog. It’s mission is to inform the reader of the ethical dilemmas often discussed within the field of Bioethics and in the Bioethics and Medical Humanities program major. The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual author and do not represent the opinions of the University of Louisville. Because the blog is student-led and moderated, we have much greater control on its evolution — more so than we would should it have been an officially recognized representation of the University and its mission, vision, and goals. With that said…

Anyone is welcomed to submit posts, comment of posted entries, and challenge the culture of Bioethics with thoughtful opinions and ideas. This is a blog that is meant to both enlighten and persuade others of your opinions. Conversely, this is not a blog to attack other’s points-of-view, nor is it meant to be used as an official resource for student work in Bioethical seminars.

If you would like to contribute to our blog, please submit any pieces of writing to the following address: uofl.bioethics@gmail.com. Blog entries should not be greater in length than 500 words. Potential posts that could be added to the blog are well written, lack hearsay, show eloquence and thoughtful to the topic, and stay on task with the flavor of the blog.

Please visit often, and we look forward to reading what you submit and what you post as a follow-up to other already established blog entries.

The gang at uoflbioethics.wordpress.com