Medical Experiments on Incompetent Individuals in a Society - Essay Example

Medical Experiments on Incompetent Individuals in a Society number Medical Experiments on Incompetent Individuals in a Society The issue of the use of human individuals for the purpose of medical experiments is fraught with complications and there are arguments that can be put forward on the part of people who are both for and against the idea. The idea is in a sense, fundamentally against the democratic principles of the society that we live in, in that it denies many people the right to an existence in the same way that people who are gifted are. There may also be arguments that state that people of inferior qualities act like leeches, sucking off the fruits of the labor of more intelligent and talented people, especially in countries where social security benefits are very high for people who belong to the marginalized sections of the society. Many factors are important and need to be taken into consideration while a problem of this intensity is being discussed. The divisions in the society need to be taken into account. Racial differences and how intelligence in different races and societies are assessed is an important aspect of such a debate. One must also assess the question as to who possesses the right to assess the intelligence of people who are to be subjected to medical experiments. What constitutes intelligence also remains an important part of this debate that would decide the future of human society. Much of this debate can be argued to stem from the work of the great naturalist, Charles Darwin, who argued that in a world where the natural resources that is available to everybody is limited, the law of the ‘survival of the fittest’ would be the one that holds (Darwin). The unabashed recourse to animal imagery is what made this maxim repulsive to the people of the Victorian age and it is precisely this emotion that makes many shudder at the very thought or suggestion of the use of people who are not of very high intelligence for the purpose of medical experiments. Debates such as these are often left untouched since it is difficult for people and academicians to decide upon an approach and are often confused by emotional arguments that are advanced by certain groups that are against such use of humans for the purpose of scientific research in general and medical research in particular. The fact that such reforms can be brought about or stalled only through the medium of legislation by the executives of nations makes the issue even more complicated. This is because the issue, like the legalization of abortion or animal rights, is an extremely sensitive issue and can create problems for political parties that usually take the decisions of the executive wing of the government of a nation state. Public perceptions are thus, an important part of this debate. An objective approach that brings people from various backgrounds together for negotiations would be the best way to seek a solution for this problem. This should be preceded by campaigns that seek to allay the fears of all sections of the society regarding this matter. This paper shall seek to look at the complexities of the issue at hand and examine the choices that are available to human society as a whole for the purpose of attaining a solution to this problem. The issue of whether people who are in states of coma where they may not be able to inform others of their assent or dissent to be a part of a certain experiment conducted for the purpose of finding out the efficacy of a certain scientific or medical truth, is a complex one. What constitutes death for such people is a question that has not met with satisfactory answers from philosophers as of yet. People who have died may have, in their wills, decided to donate their bodies for the cause of medical research. The question of death, thus assumes importance in this matter. Also important is the assent of the person involved. In many cultures, the body of a person is considered to be important for the performance of the last rites that would ensure the salvation of the soul. In such situations the use of force for the cause of science and progress in scientific research would be counter-productive. This would be so since the forces of religion would be strong enough to stall any attempt by members of the scientific community to enact legislation upon this subject. The will of a person is thus to be consulted in such matters. This would ensure that matters are conducted in a legal manner. The will of a person who has entered a state of coma and is unable to take his or her decisions should be consulted as to the wish of that person. In modern democracies, the rational or irrational views that people hold regarding certain issues cannot be challenged as long as what they do is not something that is illegal. The impotence of the scientific community against such a situation is frustrating and this makes the necessity for this debate stronger. The impotence of the scientific community is shared by people who feel that they pay taxes that are hard-earned for the sake of people who are less talented and undeserving. Many people feel that such people should at least be made to become subjects of medical studies that would benefit themselves and the rest of humanity. This argument has its share of problems too. What constitutes merit is a debate that still rages on. Whether people who are underachievers are so as a result of the conditions, social and economic, of their existence or due to the essential nature of their being is a question that has perplexed philosophers of the stature of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus who dealt with the questions of human existence and its essential nature. A person of a non-white racial origin may claim that he or she has achieved less in life as a result of the historic oppression that they have been subjected to. Similarly, a poor Dalit from the Indian subcontinent may make the same claim. They may object to being used for the purpose of medical experiments stating it as another scheme on the part of their oppressors to subjugate them as a community. It may also be seen as an attack on their culture by certain communities that choose to lead an existence that reaps benefits from the welfare schemes of the government of a country while maintaining a distance from the charms of modernity. The debate between tradition and modernity becomes an important one in this context. The lack of uniformity that is a feature of modern society makes it impossible for one to classify people into watertight compartments of talented and untalented people. Historical factors have to be taken into account when one encounters such a situation. This would entail an analysis of caste, religion, race and many other factors. An analysis of all these factors for the purpose of classifying people and creating a group of people who shall be made to undergo medical experiments is an impossible task at the level of its theoretical possibility. At this stage of the debate, one may look into the matter in a very theoretical way and it yet does not yield a solution. The practical aspects of the matter are much more daunting and they involve a sensitive tackling of identity groups that would partially be concerned about questions of injustice. They would, at the same time, attempt to gain political mileage out of the entire situation and this is a situation that is fraught with the danger of violence. Assessing the exact extent to which a person is incompetent as a result of his own personal ineptitudes is an almost impossible task. An alternative to this thus, needs to be found out so that the situation may reach a point of some stability, philosophically, at least. It however, stands to reason that people who are incompetent should at least take up an equal share of the responsibilities of living in a society. Being a part of certain medical experiments would be a part of such a responsibility. In many situations, the consciousness of the marginality of a certain person or group can be an empowering experience in that it would enable the marginalized to make an attempt to transcend their historical positions. There can however, also exist situations where the empowered are expected to do much of the work that is to be done in the society. This then breeds resentment amongst the people who are rich, prosperous and hardworking. This is not a good sign for any country or economy. The resentment that grows in such a manner in people would deepen the divisions that have been created in the past and cause greater suspicion to develop between the two groups of people involved. This again would cause negative effects upon the societies that exist in the world today. Respecting the free will of people, thus, seems to be the only choice that is open to policymakers today. The desirability of such an option is a major reason for the adoption of such a plan. In the spirit of democracy which has been universally accepted as the most desirable form of governments, the people of the world need to be free and allowed the liberty to choose whether they need to be a part of a medical experiment or not. Instances where the underprivileged sections of the society are offered money and other enticements in exchange for being a part of medical experiments is a practice that is on the rise in many developing countries. Such tendencies are to be checked and people must be encouraged to be a part of experiments of medical research for the universal good of mankind. This can also be done through creating awareness amongst people regarding the beneficial effects of such experiments. Another important aspect of such an arrangement would be the attitudes of the scientific community. The scientific community needs to, in most cases, cease to hold a condescending attitude vis-à-vis other people who may not be as knowledgeable as they are. As a result of this, they may also lose out on people who may be willing to volunteer for experiments if their fears regarding certain aspects of the experiment are laid to rest. The scientific community needs to evolve a system where they are able to communicate the fact that the experiments that they conduct are safe. This would also mean that experiments involving the slightest of risks need to be ruled out. The safety of the volunteer should be the foremost concern of the scientific community irrespective of the class or social background that they come from. They also need to be willing to not lose sight of the fact that the experiments are conducted, after all, for the rescue and protection of human lives through progress in science and allied areas of research. The importance of life should not be lost sight of in one’s resentment towards the policies that are the result of the inevitable vote banks that are given rise to by selfish politicians, who are ready to overlook the interests of the state, scientific progress and that of the unity of the nation which would be the aspect of the nation that would suffer the most, since the divisions of the society would get deepened due to such divisive tactics. Whether a person wishes to be a part of a scientific experiment and whether he or he is ready to put themselves at a risk that may be present in such an experiment that may be conducted for the sake of scientific progress, must depend only on the person involved and not on other social factors. Whether that person chooses to do so may be guided by social reasons; however, the fact that the choice would remain in that person’s hands would be an inducement greater than force, which would only produce fear where there shouldn’t be any. Works Cited Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species. New York: Penguin, 2009. Read More