(October 18, 2010 at 2:27 pm)Existentialist Wrote: Bribing somebody to have a medical procedure carried out on them cannot be a sound basis for free consent, especially a medical procedure whose reversal is doubtful. I expect that the BMA will be looking into the ethics of this very carefully and issuing guidelines to its members not to touch this kind of arrangement with a bargepole. If there are a lot of these cases I anticipate individuals will be successfully suing the NHS in due course. There is no way that 30 days is a sufficient length of time in the life of a drug addict for them to be able to give consent at a time of extreme vulnerability. I would be amazed if this does not become a major political issue.
Vasectomies have been reversible for years (usually it is a glue that can easily be dissolved to open up the sperm tunnels).
Bribing? That's a strong term coming from someone who has no idea of current medical procedures. Are they being forced to do it? Is it being targeted at "undesirables" or the general populace?
My wish is that our culture does not judge people who get this operation as lesser. It's their decision not to have children.