I have come upon a fascinating paper (9 pages long, and very readable) discussing ethical concerns raised during the HIV/AIDS campaigns, particularly in relation to the rise of self-defined "community action" health advocacy groups which worked hard to imprint the idea of HIV testing and "safe sex" as the new "virtuous" choices. The writer is under the impression that the claims such groups made to represent the populations to which they directed their virtue prescriptions were not honestly earned.
I find highly topical, since many of the campaigns urging people to test for Covid and/or to get vaccinated - as well as to practice "safe socialising" (putting a "condom" ;) over your mouth and nose, for eg) are strongly "rhyming" with this history. It seems that when you intend to deny autonomy in decision-making to your fellow beings, you must restort to instilling certain "virtues", while strongly punishing their lack. Accusing those who exercise autonomy of committing "virtual" murder is a common tactic, just for example - to wit: - Thabo Mbeki, who stands accused of the virtual murder of HIV-infected bables in Africa by convening a panel of scientists, some of whom cautioned against the use of genotoxic drugs in pregnant women, a caution his government adopted in its policy for two years until forced in court to supply the drugs. - RFK Jr who stands accused of the murder of Samoan babies of measles, during an outbreak in which the wisdom of using measles vaccines was hotly debated among Samoans, including some in government who had hosted RFK Jr on a visit shortly before - You and me, who stand accused of being granny killers for giving hugs, failing to social distance, failing to wear a mask, or failing to keep our vaccine cards "up to date"...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-01-07 10:08 pm (UTC)I find highly topical, since many of the campaigns urging people to test for Covid and/or to get vaccinated - as well as to practice "safe socialising" (putting a "condom" ;) over your mouth and nose, for eg) are strongly "rhyming" with this history. It seems that when you intend to deny autonomy in decision-making to your fellow beings, you must restort to instilling certain "virtues", while strongly punishing their lack. Accusing those who exercise autonomy of committing "virtual" murder is a common tactic, just for example - to wit:
- Thabo Mbeki, who stands accused of the virtual murder of HIV-infected bables in Africa by convening a panel of scientists, some of whom cautioned against the use of genotoxic drugs in pregnant women, a caution his government adopted in its policy for two years until forced in court to supply the drugs.
- RFK Jr who stands accused of the murder of Samoan babies of measles, during an outbreak in which the wisdom of using measles vaccines was hotly debated among Samoans, including some in government who had hosted RFK Jr on a visit shortly before
- You and me, who stand accused of being granny killers for giving hugs, failing to social distance, failing to wear a mask, or failing to keep our vaccine cards "up to date"...
So, as a paper which teases out some of the ethical issues that can arise out of health advocacy, I recommend it. https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02251028