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From: dcs@homxa.UUCP (D.SIMEN)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Re: Infliction of beliefs, specifically abortion
Message-ID: <305@homxa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Jul-84 15:07:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: homxa.305
Posted: Thu Jul 26 15:07:59 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Jul-84 06:27:26 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 36

From Robert A. Pease (punctuation and grammatical errors reproduced):
>  Lets say that you, Rick, and I are visitors from another world.  (I have
>  a reason for starting off with this.)  We come to Earth as friends on a
>  Holiday.  We decide to go mountain climbing, and during the excursion, I
>  happen to fall and damage both my kidneys.  You, being the good friend
>  you are, rush me to a hospital where the only living physician on ET
>  biology informs you that the only way to save my life is for you to donate
>  one of your kidneys to me.  Its no big deal to us, your kidney would grow
>  back in a few months anyway, but I don't have that long.
>
>  Now, clearly, my life depends on you donating your kidney to me.  But for
>  whatever reason, you decide that you don't want to even though it would
>  mean my life.  Now, we have a situation where my right to life is directly
>  dependent on you giving up your right to control what happens to your own
>  body.  In this case, which right prevails?  My right to life, or your
>  right to control what happens to your own body?

As for any ethical question, the solution to this one depends on the personal
ethics of the individual.  For me, any attempt to force Rick to donate part of
his body, or to undergo any medical procedure whatsoever in order to help you,
is immoral and unethical.  In other words, he most certainly does have the
right to control his own body, even though you will surely die because he
exercises this right.

Incidentally, I applied this answer not to you (whom I do not know) but to my
4-month-old baby boy, whom, after my wife, I love more than anyone else in the
world.  Suppose he could be saved from death only by your donating a pint of
blood to him -- no-one else's blood will do.  YOU HAVE THE ABSOLUTE AND
UNCOMPROMISABLE RIGHT TO SAY NO.  Naturally, you would earn my undying hatred.
Clearly, you would be the lowest of the low (and then some) to refuse.  But I
would have NO right to force you to donate your blood.  The same goes for Rick
the ET -- he is obviously not a friend at all if he is unwilling to suffer a
minor inconvenience for the sake of your life, but the decision is his, not
yours.
							David Simen
							...!houxm!homxa!dcs