I found this to be an interesting article about how the US started doing autopsies on fallen soldiers. The US has done over 3,000 autopsies more than any other nation and the findings have been life saving. Not only has the US learned about enhancing war equipment, but also the US has been able to make medical advances. An example of this is lengthening the tube to help air get into a collapsed lung;after autopsies researchers found that over 50% of soldiers could die from a collapsed lung simply because the tube was too short to reach the lung.
I am glad the US started doing autopsies of soldiers we have been able to learn a lot and enhance our armed forces. Do you think this should be done? Or should soldiers be left at peace after defending our nation?
Monday, May 25, 2009
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6 comments:
i think that it is beneficial to do autopsies on fallen soldiers because although these men and women have died and should be left alone and in peace i think that they would want to help their fellow soldiers and their own country. they volunteered their lives for the betterment of the united states.
some may argue that fallen soldiers should be left alone but i feel that these soldiers would be more than happy to be able to be a help to the US even after their death.
I think that performing autopsies on fallen soldiers is a good idea. Not only do they get to serve their country, but they also have the ability to save the lives of others in the process. On the other hand, the issue of morality comes into play in terms of letting these soldiers rest in peace. I think that this is a small price to pay for the thousands of lives that these fallen soldiers have saved, not to mention the medical advances that will save lives in the future.
I think that since these soldiers all enlisted in the military on their own free will, there's nothing wrong with doing this. Also, since this led to medical advances such as the one about the tube, it prevents future casualties. Autopsies are normal and without them we wouldn't have most of the advances we currently have in medicine.
I believe carrying out the autopsies is reasonable. I guess it would be nice to be able to get permission from the families first, but I think that the soldiers and their loved ones would want to do what's best for the country by saving others. The death toll for the war is already very high, so I think that people would find it logical to prevent unnecessary raising of this number when such autopsies can save lives easily.
Hmm...this caught my eye as I read the article: "Families are informed that autopsies are being performed and that they can request a copy of the report. Occasionally, families object, but the autopsy is done anyway. "
What? They're doing it even when it's against the will of the solider's family? I'm pretty sure that doctors don't organ harvest when the person isn't an organ donor. Why are they able do autopsies against the wishes of the families? I understand the important information that could come out of these autopsies, but I'm not able to justify it ethically when the families are sometimes opposed to this practice. These men fought for our country, perhaps the least we could do is respect the wishes of their families.
I think anything that benefits a group of people without disadvantaging another group of people is definitely more than okay. The one deal with these autopsies are, as Moeka and Nelson mentioned, is that the family members may not want an autopsy to be done, and I think their wishes should be granted. This is the one case I can think of that is disadvantageous to one group of people, and I believe it is more important to side with the families in this case.
It is important to think from every perspective and put oneself in the place of others. I thought it was a stronger position not wanting an autopsy to be done and having my want denied. I think it's the government's duty to protect its citizens, so since autopsies without permission could probably cause psychological distress to those families, the researchers should not be allowed to perform non-approved autopsies.
But perhaps in special cases an autopsy may have more good overall for the U.S. citizens/soldiers. In these cases, perhaps autopsies without approval would be best.
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