Oxford bioethicist Julian Savulescu has certainly won a lot of media exposure during the Olympic Games. He is a strong supporter of scrapping the zero-tolerance to doping in competitive sports. This week he was featured in "Room for Debate" in the New York Times. There he argued that:
"We should allow drugs in competitive sports for three reasons. First, the ban is ruining the mood and spirit of the game. It’s hard to enjoy any sports narrative if we don’t know who is clean and who isn’t. Second, the ban is actually bad for the health of the athletes. They currently use undetectable substances and methods with no medical supervision or responsibility. How can this be monitored? Third, the ban is unfair. Honest athletes don’t have access to safe enhancement methods. Cheaters have the competitive advantage."
He was also grilled on his ideas by a correspondent for RT America, the Russian news service. (See video.)
This article is published by Michael Cook and BioEdge.org under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation. Commercial media must contact us for permission and fees. Some articles on this site are published under different terms.
RSS | Archive |
| michael@bioedge.org
