BSG episode: 2:13: Epiphanies aka what a bio-ethical mes
I just watched it. Given that I am largely in agreement with what dangermousie wrote in her review, I don't see the need to duplicate it.
The main thought in my head after watching the episode is that I'm very sickened and revolted by the whole Sharon situation - even the way it 'worked out in the end'. Talk about Adama and Roslin setting aside previously espoused moral values as and when they wish ....
I already expressed my disquiet about Roslin's increasingly ambiguous morality in my comments on Resurrection Ship, Part 1. The multiplying grey areas in her values are quite disturbing. It's not even hypocrisy - it's like she's becoming a different person.
She re-quotes that idiot Adar: "the interesting thing about being a president is that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone". We can forgive her because she was dying of cancer, in massive pain and then decides to 'talk' to the 'Peace Group' in the end, but the fact that she has now quoted him twice, definitely indicates that Roslin's not necessarily the 'good person who has to do bad things' that I keep wanting her to be.
I'm also really unsettled by the number of people who still seem to think it's fine to do whatever to Cylons because they're Cylons and and not 'human'. Yes the Cylons have done terrible things but as dangermousie has pointed out - two wrongs don't make a right.
In my thoughts on Flight of the Phoenix I already waffled on at great length about why I strongly believe that Sharon is 'human' and why Cally's shooting of Galactica Sharon was 'murder' even if colonial law had not yet reached a point when it acknowledged that 'killing' a Cylon constitutes murder. At that time, I listed a number of instances when the law had reflected certain values and thinking that have since changed and the fact that ultimately, the law changes to reflect shifting values but the process of legislative is slow and usually follows value-shifts.
I also posed a few hypothetical questions - not realising what was to come in Pegasus and Epiphanies :P
I'll ask a tougher question. Present Colonial law does not recognise Sharon as a human being. A lot of people don't have a problem with her being put out the airlock. A lot of people don't want to call the killing of Galactica Boomer murder because she's not a human. What is your answer in the following cirumstances. Is there an internal moral compass that says regardless of what the current laws say, this feels 'wrong'?:
I can't help but remember that prior to major legislative changes, there were always people who did not agree and opposed present legislation.
So ... the hypotheticals ended up appearing in the series and didn't end up causing as much outrage as I thought they would.
I was completely sickened not only by the suggestion of forcible abortion of Sharon's baby, but the fact that at the end they not only harvest her baby's blood to cure the president - it's quite likely that the baby's destiny and only reason for being kept alive is that it's going to be an organ and a blood farm for harvesting purposes.
In 1979, as a result of critical overpopulation problems, China implemented the sometimes cruel One Child Policy. Under the policy, parents are only permitted to have one child. The law has led to tragic instances of neglect, abandonment and even infanticide for girl babies.
The law has always been restricted only to ethnic Han Chinese living in urban areas. Citizens living in rural areas and minorities are not subject to the law. Minorities are permitted to have 2 children. The law has resulted in a large disparity in the numbers of boys and girls being born in China - 118 males for every 100 females (105 males are naturally born for every 100 females).
Relevantly, breaches of the law result in fines, even forced sterilisations or forced abortions for second or subsequent pregnancies. Some of the abortions have taken place even in the ninth month of a woman's pregnancy - in fact, in some instances, some children who were only days away from birth were aborted. Human rights groups violently condemn the above policy. Even though I, critically speaking, 'understand' why the Chinese government feels that it must do what it has done because its overpopulation problem is so serious - I am still horrified by the notion of forcible sterlisations and abortions.
dangermousie spoke about the Nazis using the blood Jewish children because they didn't consider Jewish people to be 'human'. In my discussion of Flight of the Phoenix, I already mentioned instances in history when blacks, Asians and other 'coloured' people were regarded as animals and sub-human.
I hate to harp on and on about Unit 731 but it's still whirling away in my brain as an example of what happens when people regard another 'race' as non-human. As I've mentioned before, when I was in Harbin, I visited Unit 731 the medical research centre of the Japanese Imperial Army where they conducted biological experiments on prisoners of war (mostly Chinese), resulting in the death of more than 3,000 prisoners. The Japanese called the prisoners marutas which means "a log of wood" in Japanese. The dehumanised term used by Unit 731 to regard the live humans as accessible material, on which one could perform anything.
Marutas were obtained from secret agencies at Harbin and military police in Manchuria. Most marutas were patriots, anti-Japanese underground workers, communist party members, and POWs from China, Russia, and Mongolia. However, if the researchers needed more marutas, they would pluck civilians from the streets. Some were lured by the prospect of employment. Young boys, mothers, and children, even pregnant women, were trapped.
The experiments included injection of toxins, poisoning of food, different methods of spreading diseases, poisons, effect of pressure/vacuum on the human body, hanging upside down, how long it takes a healthy human to die when deprived of water, how long it takes a healthy human to die when deprived of food, infection of toxins in powdered form, how long it takes a healthy human to die when electrocuted, how long it takes a healthy human to die when burnt with boiling water or fire, how long it takes a human to die when exposed to water, frost bite experiments, toxic gas, using different liquids like horse blood in humans, watching blood loss, how long it takes a healthy human to die when his/her organs are removed while they're conscious, effect of gunshot on different parts of the body (timing for death), exposure to radiation, artificial insemination of animals/animal foetuses in humans, testing of different chemicals and medicines, removing of intestines and stomach while alive and how long a human can survive, removal of eyes etc. They were particularly interested in anthrax and the bubonic plague so infected several villages in the area to see the effects on the civilian population. They conducted vaccine reserach and pathogen experiments on living humans. The experiments were very methodical with different groups of test subjects, the results were recorded meticulously.
After the end of the war, the United States gave the top Japanese scientists at Unit 731 immunity from prosecution in exchange for the data collected during the experiments - a massive bioethical nightmare as far as I'm concerned! You can see why my feelings on what was done to Sharon are kind of strong ..... I know I'm supposed to be thinking: "Oh yay, at least they spared the baby because she's useful" but part of me thinks ... what kind of existence is that child going to have if she's constantly being harvested for her valuable cells, blood and organs?
The problem is, my revulsion for the bioethical minefield kind of overshadowed much else of what happened in the episode although I will try to remember:
Amended: Roslin wasn't given a choice but I'd like to see a further exploration of people's values eg. a Cylon hater refusing to accept life-saving Cylon blood the way some people refuse transfusions or certain transplants on religious grounds.
lucie_p's comments picked up quite a few more issues that I missed because I was busy seething about bioethical nightmares.
The main thought in my head after watching the episode is that I'm very sickened and revolted by the whole Sharon situation - even the way it 'worked out in the end'. Talk about Adama and Roslin setting aside previously espoused moral values as and when they wish ....
I already expressed my disquiet about Roslin's increasingly ambiguous morality in my comments on Resurrection Ship, Part 1. The multiplying grey areas in her values are quite disturbing. It's not even hypocrisy - it's like she's becoming a different person.
She re-quotes that idiot Adar: "the interesting thing about being a president is that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone". We can forgive her because she was dying of cancer, in massive pain and then decides to 'talk' to the 'Peace Group' in the end, but the fact that she has now quoted him twice, definitely indicates that Roslin's not necessarily the 'good person who has to do bad things' that I keep wanting her to be.
I'm also really unsettled by the number of people who still seem to think it's fine to do whatever to Cylons because they're Cylons and and not 'human'. Yes the Cylons have done terrible things but as dangermousie has pointed out - two wrongs don't make a right.
In my thoughts on Flight of the Phoenix I already waffled on at great length about why I strongly believe that Sharon is 'human' and why Cally's shooting of Galactica Sharon was 'murder' even if colonial law had not yet reached a point when it acknowledged that 'killing' a Cylon constitutes murder. At that time, I listed a number of instances when the law had reflected certain values and thinking that have since changed and the fact that ultimately, the law changes to reflect shifting values but the process of legislative is slow and usually follows value-shifts.
I also posed a few hypothetical questions - not realising what was to come in Pegasus and Epiphanies :P
I'll ask a tougher question. Present Colonial law does not recognise Sharon as a human being. A lot of people don't have a problem with her being put out the airlock. A lot of people don't want to call the killing of Galactica Boomer murder because she's not a human. What is your answer in the following cirumstances. Is there an internal moral compass that says regardless of what the current laws say, this feels 'wrong'?:
- Someone tries to 'rape' Sharon
- Cylon organs are found to be of benefit to humans - they 'harvest' her against her consent.
- Her blood/stem cells are of benefit to humans - they 'harvest' her against her consent. Drain her dry.
- Sharon kills someone else. Is that 'murder'?
I can't help but remember that prior to major legislative changes, there were always people who did not agree and opposed present legislation.
So ... the hypotheticals ended up appearing in the series and didn't end up causing as much outrage as I thought they would.
I was completely sickened not only by the suggestion of forcible abortion of Sharon's baby, but the fact that at the end they not only harvest her baby's blood to cure the president - it's quite likely that the baby's destiny and only reason for being kept alive is that it's going to be an organ and a blood farm for harvesting purposes.
In 1979, as a result of critical overpopulation problems, China implemented the sometimes cruel One Child Policy. Under the policy, parents are only permitted to have one child. The law has led to tragic instances of neglect, abandonment and even infanticide for girl babies.
The law has always been restricted only to ethnic Han Chinese living in urban areas. Citizens living in rural areas and minorities are not subject to the law. Minorities are permitted to have 2 children. The law has resulted in a large disparity in the numbers of boys and girls being born in China - 118 males for every 100 females (105 males are naturally born for every 100 females).
Relevantly, breaches of the law result in fines, even forced sterilisations or forced abortions for second or subsequent pregnancies. Some of the abortions have taken place even in the ninth month of a woman's pregnancy - in fact, in some instances, some children who were only days away from birth were aborted. Human rights groups violently condemn the above policy. Even though I, critically speaking, 'understand' why the Chinese government feels that it must do what it has done because its overpopulation problem is so serious - I am still horrified by the notion of forcible sterlisations and abortions.
dangermousie spoke about the Nazis using the blood Jewish children because they didn't consider Jewish people to be 'human'. In my discussion of Flight of the Phoenix, I already mentioned instances in history when blacks, Asians and other 'coloured' people were regarded as animals and sub-human.
I hate to harp on and on about Unit 731 but it's still whirling away in my brain as an example of what happens when people regard another 'race' as non-human. As I've mentioned before, when I was in Harbin, I visited Unit 731 the medical research centre of the Japanese Imperial Army where they conducted biological experiments on prisoners of war (mostly Chinese), resulting in the death of more than 3,000 prisoners. The Japanese called the prisoners marutas which means "a log of wood" in Japanese. The dehumanised term used by Unit 731 to regard the live humans as accessible material, on which one could perform anything.
Marutas were obtained from secret agencies at Harbin and military police in Manchuria. Most marutas were patriots, anti-Japanese underground workers, communist party members, and POWs from China, Russia, and Mongolia. However, if the researchers needed more marutas, they would pluck civilians from the streets. Some were lured by the prospect of employment. Young boys, mothers, and children, even pregnant women, were trapped.
The experiments included injection of toxins, poisoning of food, different methods of spreading diseases, poisons, effect of pressure/vacuum on the human body, hanging upside down, how long it takes a healthy human to die when deprived of water, how long it takes a healthy human to die when deprived of food, infection of toxins in powdered form, how long it takes a healthy human to die when electrocuted, how long it takes a healthy human to die when burnt with boiling water or fire, how long it takes a human to die when exposed to water, frost bite experiments, toxic gas, using different liquids like horse blood in humans, watching blood loss, how long it takes a healthy human to die when his/her organs are removed while they're conscious, effect of gunshot on different parts of the body (timing for death), exposure to radiation, artificial insemination of animals/animal foetuses in humans, testing of different chemicals and medicines, removing of intestines and stomach while alive and how long a human can survive, removal of eyes etc. They were particularly interested in anthrax and the bubonic plague so infected several villages in the area to see the effects on the civilian population. They conducted vaccine reserach and pathogen experiments on living humans. The experiments were very methodical with different groups of test subjects, the results were recorded meticulously.
After the end of the war, the United States gave the top Japanese scientists at Unit 731 immunity from prosecution in exchange for the data collected during the experiments - a massive bioethical nightmare as far as I'm concerned! You can see why my feelings on what was done to Sharon are kind of strong ..... I know I'm supposed to be thinking: "Oh yay, at least they spared the baby because she's useful" but part of me thinks ... what kind of existence is that child going to have if she's constantly being harvested for her valuable cells, blood and organs?
The problem is, my revulsion for the bioethical minefield kind of overshadowed much else of what happened in the episode although I will try to remember:
- Apollo did look kind of cute - and I was pleased that there was form of follow-up on his 'despair' from the previous week
- Why do the flaky, crazy, freaky terrorists have to have blatantly ethnic names. I suppose it would never do to portray extremists with W.A.S.P-y names.
- I thought Sharon was excellent. I read a quote somewhere bagging her out as acting badly and just 'frowning' her way through instead of acting. I wonder why the Sharon character and Grace Park bring out such strong feelings in people. I don't particularly like Tyrol or the actor who plays him but I can still appreciate it when he puts in a fabulous performance, when he makes me understand his reasoning and motivation.
- I still love Doc Cottle but I was kind of hoping that as a doctor he would have expressed more reservations about the proposal to abort the foetus and also the decision to use the foetus' blood. All of his concerns were for Roslin alone and well ... he's a doctor and normally I love the old guy. Maybe he was just having a bad day.
- Adama. Yes they showed him with Angsty Face of Bioethical Dilemma, looking troubled outside Sharon's cell as they were going to haul her away for her abortion... but well .... I don't have much sympathy for his angst. What is he, Roslin's lapdog these days?
- Helo was good, brave and principled - although who gave him the right to consent on Sharon's behalf to the non-consensual extraction of her baby's blood. True, it was the only way to save the baby but still ....
Amended: Roslin wasn't given a choice but I'd like to see a further exploration of people's values eg. a Cylon hater refusing to accept life-saving Cylon blood the way some people refuse transfusions or certain transplants on religious grounds.
lucie_p's comments picked up quite a few more issues that I missed because I was busy seething about bioethical nightmares.