Where do we draw the line? Taboos in medicine through time
Keywords:
taboos in medicine, sex change, cosmetic surgery, transplantation, artificial insemination, adoptionAbstract
A white paper with four straight edges, something you can find in any office. Sharply defined
and easily comprehensible. But how about something more complicated like a human being,
medicine, society. We are in the era where these three words have come closer to each other
than ever before. Medicine is being pushed to the limit and while it produces some startling
and lifesaving answers, it also opposes us with a lot of hard questions. Have you ever walked
the streets of your town encounterig a person and wondering whether it was a he or a she
or were equally surprised by their appearance? (Change of sex, cosmetic surgery). Are we
humans really so selfish that we exploit others for their organs, when on the other hand we
are not willing to donate ours? (Transplantation). What is a doctor really, a god or merely a
human? (Artificial insemination). Are we still adopting because we cannot conceive a child
and wish one or is it more because it’s the trend? (Adoption). We are forced to think anew
who we are, who the people around us are and where the truth lies hidden. This presentation
will try to push you to the limit and confront you with some of the questions we face in the
21st century medicine.
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