The ethics of performance enhancement

Several good pieces discuss the ethics of enhanced performance.  A very complicated subject.  Here are the references:

1.  Sal Marinello discusses how scientific advancement seems to outpace ethics discussions.  Intersportswire.

As evidenced by the human growth hormone (HGH) and steroids in sport scandal, and the attitudes expressed by athletes, fans, journalists and even some members of the medical community, it is clear that many in our society are not ready to deal with the complex ethical issue associated with this story.  As medicine has advanced, there has not been a concomitant advance in the general public’s understanding of the implications of gene and hormone therapy as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

 

2  Mark Zeigler of the the San Diego Union-Tribune discusses how athletes at the NFL combine circumvent the PED testing protocol.  As Victor Conte says, 'it's an IQ test, not a dope test'.

3.  The Wharton Business School discusses MLB, doping, and business ethics.

"You see Major League Baseball stuttering on taking action on steroids, but part of it is that fans haven't gotten their arms around the issue in a dramatic fashion," says Kenneth Shropshire, director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative and a professor of legal studies and business ethics. Although attention from the Mitchell Report may push baseball players and executives to a new sense of urgency, Shropshire says that right now, "There is not a sense of ethical crisis. It hasn't gotten to the level of teams or leagues having a Chief Ethical Officer. I don't think they view steroid use as an ethical violation. Many still see it as simply pursuing a competitive advantage."

4. The Sports Law blog publishes a piece on steroids and ethics here.

Really interesting piece in Science Progress by Dr. Arthur Caplan, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, on the ethics of steroids. In short, he argues that the commonly-endorsed logic of "steroids are evil" is at least partly misguided, if not altogether wrong. Here are some excerpts from his piece

5.  And the writing referred to above by Dr. Caplan.

Professional and amateur sports are awash in steroids and have been for many years. It seems self-evident that this is a problem. The amount of media and political attention paid to steroids and other pharmacologic forms of enhancement in sports might even suggest that it is one of the greatest moral problems the world faces.

Admittedly, putting the challenge of dealing with steroids on the same moral plane as battling poverty is a bit of a stretch. Still, a lot of people all over the world are clamoring for those in charge to get steroids out of sports. That is what makes the recent publication of a number of articles and books challenging the idea that performance enhancement if morally wrong so interesting. While it may seem obvious that athletes using steroids to build strength or gain endurance is wrong, could those intuitions be mistaken?