CONTRA MUNDUM

CONTRA MUNDUM is an occasional Blog committed to the theological reflection on the present situation with a special focus on the religious establishment. CM seeks to summon persons to theological awareness and religious obedience. Raymond J Lawrence Jr. Raymondlawrence@cpsp.org

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Boy In The Bubble




Rev. Raymond Lawrence: David was almost certainly the first human guinea pig in history. The first human being to live their entire lives in a laboratory capsule. And I don't think we ought to do that again.

When David Vetter died at the age of 12, he was already world famous: the boy in the plastic bubble. Mythologized as the plucky, handsome child who had defied the odds, his life story is in fact even more dramatic. It is a tragic tale that pits ambitious doctors against a bewildered, frightened young couple; it is a story of unendingly committed caregivers and resourceful scientists on the cutting edge of medical research. This American Experience raises some of the most difficult ethical questions of our age. Did doctors, in a rush to save a child, condemn the boy to a life not worth living? Did they, in the end, effectively decide how to kill him?

Bruce Jennings, Medical Ethicist: It is amazing that we can do this. But perhaps we are overstepping the bounds of our knowledge when we try to conduct experiments that are so risky, so perilous. Is it really the desire to cure and to help and to save a child? Or is it pride and egotism?

The Boy in the Bubble: Full PBS Transcript American Experience

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