A Public Response

to The U.S Preventive Services Task Force and their recent announcement/findings regarding breast self-exams and mammograms not being necessary until the age of 50 (and then being scheduled every other year).


Two words: Bite. Me.


Since I realize that statistics and results and numbers can be mis-quoted or skewed to support whatever result an individual or group is behind, I won't argue anything like that here (*ahem morethan 192,000 womenwillbediagnosedwithbreastcancerbeforethisyearcomestoaclose*) but instead would like to engage in what is known as "Push Button Morality" with a classic moral dilemma posed originally by Victor Grassian, author of "Moral Reasoning".

It goes something like this ...

You're standing at a railroad switch which starts at Position A.
There is a train barreling towards 20 people on a track.
If you choose, you can throw the switch to B.
This will direct the train down a track where there are 5 people.

With no time to decide, will you save 20 lives by sacrificing 5?

(and while you're rationalizing that in your brain, Mr. Grassian further adds ...)

Realizing that, by doing so, you - and you alone - will have aggressively caused the death of 5 individuals.