Thoughts for the day

I am in the process of reading a new book about Unit 731.  During WWII and before, Japan had an organization that was responsible for research into defense and offense against biological weapons and Unit 731 was a large part of it.  This research began before the US was involved and Japan was warring with Russia and China.  Some of the research involved frostbite, plague, typhus and others.  Some were transmitted by insects (fleas and ticks) and others were by direct contact.  The importance of this Unit was that the research involved human test subjects, mostly Chinese POW or citizens.  Human dissection while subjects were still alive, dropping contaminated wheat flour dumping organisms into water or just directly injecting subjects and watching the reaction.  These were some of the methods used in the research.  The worst ones occurred when they were studying the effects of frostbite and they would have people in cold environments, tied up, and pour cold water on arms or legs at intervals to see how frostbite progressed.

All of this sounds criminal and it is.  But, the results and conclusions drawn during those "experiments" gave other researchers insight to new things.  Most didn't know what the methodology was but agreed the conclusions were valuable.  Okay, now here's the stinker.  When the war was over and the US was questioning the men responsible for Unit 731 they made a deal not to prosecute them in exchange for the information on the research projects they conducted.  I have been struggling with this question as I continue to read.

Do we condemn the results of these studies since they came about in evil and inhuman, diabolical means and punish the people responsible losing the research results that could benefit millions?  Or do we give them a "Get out of Jail" card in exchange for the information that can be used to treat many diseases?

Discuss.

On a lighter note,

Would you rather
As a spouse taking a new name, have it be Doodoo
or
Klepnermierhelgenermanson?


Keep on Go!