Word: callahans
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...CALLAHAN Rochester...
...consider such issues, Roman Catholic Lay Theologian Daniel Callahan and a number of like-minded ethicists and scientists have set up the Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences. Among the 70 members are Geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky, Psychiatrist Willard Gaylin, Theologian John C. Bennett, and U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota, who three years ago introduced a bill to establish an interdisciplinary committee to examine new scientific problems. It did not pass, but Mondale is trying again this year. "There may still be time," he says, "to establish some ground rules...
...long-term goal of the institute, says Callahan, is "legitimizing the problems," making the study of ethical issues a respectable part of the scientific curriculum. Too many scientists, says Gaylin, "see this as something mushy, something for Sunday morning, beyond the realm of science." To change that situation, the institute is trying to educate legislators on the importance of ethical considerations, and is encouraging universities to offer a solid background in ethical studies for "every scientific professional." At the Texas Medical Center in Houston, a similar interdisciplinary effort has been started by the Institute of Religion and Human Development...
...SCIENTISTS, however, frankly believe that laymen are ill equipped to discuss issues with them, let alone share control of what they do. The matters, they contend, are technical and should be decided by the technical men who understand them. Even if government does enter the field, points out Daniel Callahan, much of the success of any ethical policy will depend on a responsible professional code. "If you depend solely on laws, sanctions and enforcements," says Callahan, "the game is over." Molecular Biologist Francis Crick is confident that basic morals and common sense will prevail. Some of the wilder genetic proposals...
...Callahan accepts the morality of contraception and urges that a cheap and easy method be found to obviate the resort to abortion. As an interim solution, he proposes a legal code permitting relatively easy abortion: on request up to twelve weeks, thereafter only for "serious" reasons. He would also provide extensive counseling and a "conscience clause" for medical personnel who do not want to take part in abortions. Paralleling the permissive law, on the other hand, Callahan proposes a vigorous public campaign encouraging contraception and discouraging abortion and a social program offering alternatives such as maternal care and child support...