Mudita Journal

A -What- Transplant?

December 30, 2002 · Filed under: Politics
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As a member of the ethics lab in the UNM psychology department, I get the opportunity to participate in some intriguing discussions of biomedical ethics.

Tonight I came across a news story (via GeekPress) that raises one of my favorite conundrums in biomedical ethics: the “what do we do about that sick feeling I get when I think about it” phenomenon.

It turns out that medical science is very close to providing us with the ability to conduct (drum roll…) face transplants.

It’s hard to think of anything more squeem-inducing than a transplanted face. But there are people who need it, doctors who can (soon) conduct the surgery, and more people every day who, well, don’t need their face anymore.

I am confident that the march of science, and markets, will inevitably make procedures like this more commonplace, regardless of how much they are “questioned” by self-appointed experts.

In the interim, we get the opportunity to check our premises, and find out what really drives our convictions about what other people should and should not be allowed to do with their lives, and deaths.

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