Posted on 12/23/2001 6:26:24 AM PST by Mopp4
A terminally ill boy had his dying wish granted in Australia this month, but ethicists are still at odds over whether it was the right thing to do.
The wish was not for a trip to Disneyland or to meet a famous sports star. Instead, the 15-year-old wanted to lose his virginity before he died of cancer. The boy, who remains anonymous but was called Jack by the Australian media, did not want his parents to know about his request. Because of his many years spent in the hospital, he had no girlfriend or female friends.
Jack died last week, but not before having his last wish granted. Without the knowledge of his parents or hospital staff, friends arranged an encounter with a prostitute outside of hospital premises. All precautions were taken, and the organizers made sure the act was fully consensual. The issue has sparked fierce debate over the legal and ethical implications of granting the boy's request. By law, Jack was still a child, and the woman involved could in theory face charges for having sex with a minor. The debate was sparked by the hospital's child psychologist, who wrote a letter to "Life Matters," a radio show in which academics debate ethical and moral dilemmas. The scenario was presented in the abstract, with no details about the boy's identity.
"He had been sick for quite a long period, and his schooling was very disrupted, so he hadn't had many opportunities to acquire and retain friends, and his access to young women was pretty poor," the psychologist said recently in an interview with Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "But he was very interested in young women and was experiencing that surge of testosterone that teenage boys have." Hospital staff initially wanted to pool donations to pay for a prostitute, but the ethical and legal implications prevented them from doing so. The psychologist presented members of the clergy with the dilemma and found no clear answer. "It really polarized them," he said. "About half said, 'What's your problem?' And the other half said [it] demeans women and reduces the sexual act to being just a physical one."
Dr. Stephen Leeder, dean of medicine at the University of Sydney and a "Life Matters" panelist, said the issue was a difficult one. "I pointed out that public hospitals operated under the expectation that they would abide by state law," he said. "While various things doubtless are done that are at the edge of that, it's important the public has confidence that the law will be followed." Jack's psychologist, who works with children in palliative care, said the desire was driven in part by a need for basic human contact. "In a child dying over a long period of time, there is often a condition we call 'skin hunger,'" he said. The terminally ill child yearns for non-clinical contact because "mostly when people touch them, it's to do something unpleasant, something that might hurt." Leeder called the diagnosis "improbable." Judy Lumby, the show's other panelist and the executive director of the New South Wales College of Nursing, argued that the details as presented made it abundantly clear the boy's wish ought to be granted. "I said that I would try my darndest as a nurse to do whatever I could to make sure his wish came true," she said. "I just think we are so archaic in the way we treat people in institutions. Certainly, if any of my three daughters were dying, I'd do whatever I could, and I'm sure that you would, too." National Post
How many girls would want to marry a dead man?
Still nekkid? Signed Geezer.
Now we have to have a public debate, and the law involved, and money spent, and new legislation for every single 'once in a lifetime' exception to every normal situation...
I agree. This is sad that a boy wants this on his deathbed. I am a male and that is not what I would have wanted if I was about to die at 15 years in age.
Some of the responses on this thread are the same type of thinking that keeps me from attending ANY organized church services. I live my life the way I think HE would approve of, and I think that's good enough for me and HIM.
Which, of course, is fornication--the immorality of which was nearly universally recognized until the Children of the Sixties exalted it. The Children of that Revolution are alive and well on FR. Phallocentric Freepers, unite!
Moreover, as a Sexual Revolutionary will try to ignore, this adolescent act has consequences. Suppose that his sexual act fulfills its purpose: namely, reproduction. Who shall pay for this kid with the dead 15 year-old father? Surely the hooker wasn't paid that much; mayber her fee will cover the abortion.
For what it's worth, I am going to mass to pray for the salvation of all souls, including this poor boy, the prostitute, and the morally idiotic medical staff who aided in this sin.
Gosh, here all this time I thought it was because they were evil & selfish, and it turns out they're just trying to perpetuate the species. Give 'em a medal!
How convenient.
I would also add that it is a sad thing that this is what the kid thought was the end-all be-all of human existence. I don't think it something to condemn the kid to an eternal damnation. Heck, Jimmy Swaggert and Mr. Baker probably have more to worry about than the kid ( not that I would know for sure ).
Umm. Ok.
Hey...you seem pretty intellegent. I need an answer....why does my vacuum cleaner refuse to suck up a peanut but will eat my rugs?
It doesn't appear to be the same thing with the boy.
Yeah....I'm still nekkid you Old Geezer.
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