The hope is that a post-traumatic stress disorder patient can work with a psychiatrist and focus a traumatic event, take one of these drugs and then slowly forget that event. With that hope, however, comes a series of ethical concerns. What makes up our personalities — the essence of who we are as individuals — if not the collected memories of our experiences?
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The above is an excerpt of an article on abc news dot com in the health section regarding a new drug for PTSD diagnosed patients. The potential for rectifying the massive upsurge in the caseload of Iraq war veterans with PTSD has the Veterans Administration stymied. Essentially psychiatric care is the one and only avenue but the government is running out of options and is looking into this possible alternative which is a pill that is supposed to erase memories. The ethical dilemma is briefly approached. I dare say if there is an option these soldiers should be given an opportunity to decide for themselves and not forced to try it. Bad enough there is the suffering in the aftermath of war, let us not heap insult upon injury by administering some drug with unknown long term side effects. Popping a pill may be the easy way out but in the summation, to what end? There are yet too many unanswered questions. I cannot help but recall the horrors of so many people harmed by untested pharmaceuticals on soldiers and minorities as well as the mental patients of hospitals post WWII. What happened to human dignity? OK, my rant is now over ... Love, map9
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The above is an excerpt of an article on abc news dot com in the health section regarding a new drug for PTSD diagnosed patients. The potential for rectifying the massive upsurge in the caseload of Iraq war veterans with PTSD has the Veterans Administration stymied. Essentially psychiatric care is the one and only avenue but the government is running out of options and is looking into this possible alternative which is a pill that is supposed to erase memories. The ethical dilemma is briefly approached. I dare say if there is an option these soldiers should be given an opportunity to decide for themselves and not forced to try it. Bad enough there is the suffering in the aftermath of war, let us not heap insult upon injury by administering some drug with unknown long term side effects. Popping a pill may be the easy way out but in the summation, to what end? There are yet too many unanswered questions. I cannot help but recall the horrors of so many people harmed by untested pharmaceuticals on soldiers and minorities as well as the mental patients of hospitals post WWII. What happened to human dignity? OK, my rant is now over ... Love, map9