Would you take an immortality serum made from victims?

Discuss the February 2017 Book of the Month, The Diary of an Immortal by David J Castello.
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CataclysmicKnight
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Re: Would you take an immortality serum made from victims?

Post by CataclysmicKnight »

This IS a heavy question! On the one hand, as you mentioned, the work has already been done and just letting it "go to waste" doesn't actually help any of the people who suffered for it. On the other hand, any sort of validation of the work may lead to others doing the same thing in the future - a "people may hate it at the time but history will remember me for the end, not the means" mentality.

However, none of that would really matter if I were dying in some horrible way. I'd love to say I could resist and just die a noble death, but in all reality if I was in horrible pain that had no end in sight and immortality was my only way out, I'd probably do it.
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Post by Kb3ck »

No matter the reason I would not take a serum for immortality. If the serum was for something else I might consider it but the likelihood of me taking it is still slim.
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kimmyschemy06
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

I might not. Just thinking of the pain and suffering of the victims may take the lure of 'immortality' away; and to think that thoughts will stay with me all the days of my endless life.
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Post by SandraTWP-BRW »

I personally would not. However, I do not know that I would be against it being used by others. Sometimes awful things happen, and we learn from them. In this case, I don't feel qualified to judge for others, but I am clear in my own personal choice.
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Post by kstockard »

I think this is a very interesting question. I agree that the experimentation done on victims during WWII violates the Hippocratic oath and is unethical. I think when people know about the roots of their cure or serum, then they would be less likely to utilize it.

I personally wouldn't take an immortality serum at all, but I definitely wouldn't after knowing the origins.
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Post by Ellie Gatillo »

Immortality is an interesting thing, but I value human lives more. The end does not always justify the means and it applies on this situation. Obtaining immortality in the expense of the death of many victims is not an excuse. That being said, I will not take an immortality serum made from victims.
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Post by Bunnygirl »

This is a question with so many answers. Based on how you look at it. If a family member were sick or dying. In a heart beat and I would never regret it. For myself, I wouldn't mind living forever.

Victims are needed no matter what. Rabies is a prime example of victims. Even now if u get rabies you only have so long to decide if you want to go through the shots to protect yourself, incas you have gotten it. If you don't take the shots and you have rabies. You will die, thus making you a victim of a disease. The greater of the rabies vaccine actually used the antidote on himself first to see if it would cure the rabies first. Most would consider getting a cure for rabies in that manner very unethical. And what if this doctor had been wrong.....then he would be a victim. So there are so many ways to see this....

This victims thing is an even bigger can of worms once opened. Even now most research is conducted on animals first.....then approved for human trials. Non of the animals voluntarily said they would like to participate. So in essence these animals are all victims. It just depends on what your definition of victims are......
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Post by CzechTigg »

I don't want to be immortal, however the chance to live a good few centuries - and perhaps to sleep inbetween so as to 'jump' across the eras - would be great. At the expense of someone else would be totally wrong though.
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Post by dosenron877 »

So, if you were offered a drug that conferred immortality, but you knew it was based on research that involved torturing, killing, and maiming thousands - would you take it?
The answer to this is very question dependent. This is a good example the importance of question framing. The obvious answer is no except for the very weird among us.

Other commenters have alluded to similarities with organ donors or organ donation. I believe this to be accurate but that answer was addressed by other commenters noting the matter of willingness of the victims. Also true but that is mitigated by the idea that not all donors are willing. The terminally ill, those incarcerated and promised a quick death; we can find instances where donors are not always willing. The reader should not confine thinking to western values. There is a lot of bad stuff that happens outside the boundaries of protected democracies.
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Post by bluegreenmarina »

I'd like to say I wouldn't take but as you mention, our current medical practices are sometimes essentially the same thing... I guess it depends on the situation and the intentions of the person who created the serum.
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Post by Gajendra Nath Sinha »

depends upon the circumstances.if the victim is my friend I will accept it
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Post by kashif faridi »

There are areas which need not be pursued not for the sake of avoidance, but from ethical point of view. Cloning met its end after Dolly, the Sheep could not survive. Clandestine work may still be continuing, but is it worth the effort or deployment of resources. Except Allah there is no immortality for living beings created by ALLAH. Hence, its bound to fail naturally.
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Post by dhomespot »

I think I would take it, as it would not only cure me (selfish I know), but it would be a way to honor those whose lives were taken from them.
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Post by michelonline29 »

No. I do not think that the end justifies the means. Making an immortality serum made from the lives of victims do not give anyone the right to do so. It is morally and ethically unacceptable.
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Post by Scerakor »

I think that this ends up being an "ends justifying the means" debate rather than one concentrated directly on immortality. If you were to ask a similar question, but the medicine created was able to save someones dying life, I think that there would be a slight skew to the answers here. The fact that immortality is impossible also tends to skew the responses. A good comparison would be offering the ill gotten serum in order to provide something equally frivolous (lose a ton of weight, nose job, other aesthetic surgery).
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