Dying boy, 15, gets wish: losing virginity

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

I didn't reject... i checked them off one by one. The point is, there are other religions with different moral codes than the xtians. Judah hired a harlot (who was Tamar in disguise). Nowhere does the Torah state Judah was wrong in doing this. Samson slept around. Nowhere is fornication listed as an offense in the Torah (except an overabundance of it (ie, very promiscous)).

And this particulair case doesn't seem to be a kid sleeping around with many people does it? So, what if he were Jewish? What about me? Ive had pre-marital sex. And Im a convert. Does this mean I am going to hell?

Yet quite a few (no hyperbole) seem to either state that, or infer with their words that, this kid is now getting slow roasted.

Your half of the book says something about not judging doesn't it?

But the question is, why would he want to deny himself this pleasure? Sure, he was certainly capable of controlling his lust, but why on earth would he want to (in this case)? There would be no unwanted baby coming into the world (because prostitutes obviously use protection), so what reason can you give for him not engaging in this consensual activity?

...and don't give me this "he's going to Hell, it says so it the Bible" nonsense.

I don't believe the Bible is nonsense, but if by hell you mean a place of eternal torment, you are right. Sinners die. Nothing more, nothing less.

Biblically, it is a sin. Practically, he's no worse a sinner than you or I. But what's sad is that perfectly reasonable people like yourself don't recognize it as being wrong.

Like it or not, we are here for more than just the fullfillment of our sexual fantasies. One day everyone will be made aware of this.

I have this little tin foil hat habit of saying some prayers and opening the Bible for an answer to the question I am seeking.

I said a few prayers for an answer to your post and opened the Bible. Heres the answer.

"Certain individuals have recently wormed their way into your midst, godless types, long ago destined for the condemnation I shall describe. They pervert the gracious gift of our God to sexual excess and deny Jesus Christ, our only master and Lord."

"I wish to remind you of certain things, even though you may already be very well aware of them. The Lord first rescued his people from the land of Egypt but later destroyed those who refused to believe. There were angels, too, who did not keep to their own domain, who deserted their dwelling place. These the Lord has kept in perpetual bondage, shrouded in murky darkness against the judgment of the great day. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the towns thereabout indulged in lust, just as those angels did; they practiced unnatural vice. They are set before us to dissuade us, as they undergo a punishment of eternal fire. Similarly, these visionaries pollute the flesh; they spurn God's dominion and revile the angelic beings. Even the archangel Michael, when his case with the devil was being judged-a dispute over Moses' body-did not venture to charge him with blasphemy. He simply said, "May the Lord punish you." These people, however, not only revile what they have no knowledge of but are corrupted through the very things they know by instinct, like brute animals. So much the worse for them! They have taken the road Cain took. They have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error for pay, and like Korah they perish in rebellion. These men are blotches to your Christian banquets. They join solemn feasts without shame and only look after themselves. They are blown on the wind like clouds that bring no rain. Like trees at the year's end they bear no fruit, being dead and uprooted. They are wild ocean waves, splashing their shameless deeds around like foam, or shooting stars for whom the thick gloom of darkness has been reserved forever. It was about these that Enoch, who was of the seventh generation descended from Adam, prophesied when he said, "See, the Lord has come with countless holy ones about him to pass judgement on all men, indicting the godless for every evil deed they have done, and convicting those godless sinners of every harsh word they have uttered against him. These men are grumblers and whiners. They live by their passions, uttering bombast. Whenever it is expedient, they resort to flattery. Remember, beloved, all of you, the prophetic words of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how they kept telling you, "In the last days there will be imposters living by their godless passions." These sensualists, devoid of the Spirit, are causing divisions among you."

I thought it was quite appropriate.

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