A pill to forget?

**Samurai** · 06-18-2007, 01:37 PM

This was on 60 minutes last night and it made me really think.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/22/...in2205629.shtml

I wanted to get other's opinion. Please read the article, but in a nutshell, it is about the drug Propranolol. It blocks adrenaline to the brain, surpressing thoughts. On the program, a woman was interviewed that had been raped at 12 years of age, and basically, her life had been devastated. It consumed her even though she was in her 40s. She was given this drug, and now by her own admission, she has forgotten everything about the incident. "The drug gave her back her life", she says. They have also talked about giving this to our military soldiers that have been in war, to help forget the audacitiies that they faced.

The drug is still in experimental stages.

My question is this, if you could take a pill to forget certain aspects of your life, would it be ethical? I mean your life experiences, good and bad, make up who you are. You deal with what life gives you. Now, there are certain things that happen to people, like this woman, that are unthinkable. But, it makes up who she is... Her experiences are hers alone, and along with her personality, feelings, emotions, this is her life story. It makes up her countenance. So, is it ok to "erase" some of those memories for a better outcome?

I would venture to say no. What good is life, if it is not experienced to the fullest - even when tragedy and horror strikes. Thoughts?

**Aztec Titan** · 06-25-2007, 05:27 PM

I too do not believe it would be a good idea to take a pill to forget.

Its a bad idea.

People need to live, and learn from there life experiences whether they are good or bad.

It isn't ethical to take such a pill, there would have to be some sort of criteria for someone to take this pill, and who would have the right, and make judgement on who can take it, and who cannot take it.

What if the person that raped this women wanted to take the same pills also to forget that he did this horrible crime to her?

I mean I know that there are some sick people out there that do not have a conscience, but hey if they can get there hands on this pill they can forget what they want with help of a little pill.

In that case how could any justice be served.

Just my two cents!

**cricket** · 06-26-2007, 09:23 AM

What would life be with out our personal experiences. No matter how horrible an event is in my life, I want to remember it so in the future the matter will not be repeated. I am for facing life head on, good or bad.

**GrabThyHand** · 07-02-2007, 02:09 AM

I believe everything happens for a reason. You have to take the good with the bad. What's done is done... deal with it.

But what if you are someone who doesn't like who they are? If certain aspects of your past have shaped you into something you would like to change, wouldn't it appear reasonable to take a pill that could, in theory, block out the things that have made you what you are? Perhaps, in a way, alter your personality/out-look on life?

I, personally, would not do it. As tempting as it would be to take away some of the unbidden things that cannot be stopped from creeping into my mind, I would rather overcome them myself and gain more of a strong-will for the future. Pills/drugs/booze/whatever are great for a temporary release from reality, but permanently wiping everything clean would take some of the most impacting, even exquisite, things out of life.

**J__** · 07-24-2007, 03:53 AM

bad idea because if you had a relapse it would make you go insane

**crazychick24** · 07-26-2007, 08:17 AM

I think it's a really interesting idea. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and we are not given any situation that we cannot get through ourselves. But for some people, they are just not strong enough that way. Like the woman who got raped when she was 12, it affected her greatly for over 30 years, and probably stopped her from living her life the way she should have. In cases like that, I honestly think this pill is a good idea. If it gives people like that a chance to live again, then why should we deny them that? I think before they give the pill they should have the person wait a certain time period to see if they can get over what happened or not, and if they truly can't, then by all means, they should be allowed to have this pill. This could save lives, because many people who have post traumatic stress and depression can end up getting into things like drugs, alcohol or even killing themselves. So yeah, I think this could be good and it could be bad too. It just depends how far they go with it. You know the government, they seem to take every new discovery way too far.