The late Dick Brinckerhoff suggested the following criteria for ways to infuse societal topics into our science courses: items should be a) challenging, b) relevant, c) brief, and d) require a value judgment. Consider the following: Infusion Tips
1. The Montreal Protocol, designed to reverse depletion of stratospheric ozone, regulates production of and emissions of all gases which can give rise to ozone-destroying atoms of chlorine and bromine. In addition to the chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs) originally targeted by the Protocol, this also means halons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The HCFCs were originally looked upon as safe alternatives to CFCs, because they rapidly decomposed and did not migrate into the stratosphere; and HCFC-123, with 97-99% less environmental degradation than CFC-11, is recognized to make possible refrigeration systems of greater efficiency than any of its alternatives. In the 7 November 1997 issue of Science Donald Wuebbles and James Calm argue that, with containment and confinement, continued use rather than banishment of HCFC-123 would produce minimal (.002-.007%) effects on chlorine loading (leading to ozone depletion) while reducing carbon dioxide emissions (which would be greater with the less efficient non-HCFC-123 refrigeration systems). In other words, Wuebbles and Calm argue that the benefits of HCFC-123 for global warming outweigh the risks to stratospheric ozone. How do you feel about this?
2. In the 24 February 1995 issue of the St. Louis Review St. Louis Archbishop Justin Rigoli protested a 19 Feburary 1995 mandate of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requiring abortion training for physicians in residency programs for obstetrics and gynecology. Later that year (8 March) The New York Times raised the same issue of the religious doctrine of a medical care provider -- on the other side of the fence -- in an article citing the threat to reproductive services provided by secular hospitals which have merged with Catholic hospitals. One such merger, between Leonard and St. Mary's Hospitals in Troy, NY, brought about a lawsuit seeking to undo the merger.
Two years later (14 October 1997) The New York Times revisited the issue, noting that the Leonard-St. Mary's lawsuit had been resolved by an agreement to provide referrals. But, with more mergers between secular and Catholic hospitals in the offing, the issue has not gone away. Some mergers have excluded the reproductive services performed by the secular hospital, which still separately performs them. Other looser forms of partnership have also been formed, which also do not threaten the offering of reproductive services. Even then, less than 20% of the counties in the United States have facilities for these services.
Thus the issue of the religious doctrine of a medical care provider remains, particularly if the only nearby medical care provider excludes certain services on religious rather than medical grounds. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Does the mandate of the Accreditation Council requiring abortion training for physicians in residency programs for obstetrics and gynecology violate the First Amendment? Are other provisions of the U.S. Constitution relevant?
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The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION