Americans feel strongly about what is ethical

Even the wildest science fiction can't top what science and technology have already accomplished when it comes to surprises.

Who'd have believed, 50 years ago, that man could outlive his own heart? Or that cells from a sheep could be used to clone another sheep? The thought of preselecting the sex of a child or performing surgery on a fetus to correct birth defects would have been more wild than anything an author could dream up.As we approach the turn of the century, though, these things are reality. And while Americans have had to adapt to the fact that possibility has become reality, they have pretty strong feelings about what's ethical and what isn't. And, oddly enough, those feelings, while strongly held, are not entirely consistent.

Those are the findings of the third edition of the Shell Poll, an opinion survey of Americans for Shell Oil Co., conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. This poll, which asked 1,277 adults about values, from questions of personal conduct to medical ethics, has an error margin of plus or minus 2.8 percent.

Local medical ethicists agree that medical technology has given people a chance at life who normally would have no chance. And it has improved the quality of that life. But it has also created some real ethical dilemmas.

The area on which those surveyed were least decided was the question of cloning. Americans overwhelming believe (88 percent) that cloning human beings would be an unethical way to use scientific advances.

They're equally certain that there is nothing ethical about using technological advances to preselect the sex of children, a practice that 75 percent called unethical.

But things are a little less clear when it comes to other medical technology issues. The sides are nearly even on whether it's ethical to help a terminally ill patient die -- 46 percent say yes; 45 percent, no. The only age group that gave majority support to euthanasia was adults 35 to 49. And whites were much more likely to believe euthanasia is ethical than were blacks and hispanics.

Overall, 49 percent believe it's ethical to allow a woman to become pregnant with an egg provided by another woman, while 43 percent object.

The Americans surveyed had few ethical concerns in a couple of other areas. Three-fourths believe that using technology to identify and treat potential defects in a fetus is a good thing. And almost 60 percent support using in-vitro fertilization and other forms of technology to become pregnant.