Editorial.
CHARLOTTE, NC Nov. 21, 2010 (ACNS) - A recent article by MSNBC raises more ethical concerns about TSA. According to the article, a woman who is a cancer survivor was forced to show her prosthetic breast during a security screening at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. To add irony to the situation, the woman was also a flight attendant.
A prosthesis is a replacement for a body part lost to injury or illness and ought to be treated with as much dignity as the natural part it replaced. It is unlikely that an artificial heart valve would be considered less a part of your body than your original heart valve. Why should it be any different with more external parts? Should a woman who has suffered breast cancer and survived be humiliated by having to show the prosthetic breast? This is as indecent as requiring a natural breast to be shown. This is a gross breech of human decency and ethics on the part of TSA and a violation of civil rights. It should not be tolerated.
The outrage of citizens is understandable and justified. Citizens have a right to protect themselves and be free from unjust, indecent, and unethical practices on the part of the government. Meanwhile, the President of the US acknowledges there are some "frustrations" being experienced, claiming that TSA has informed him that the present procedures are the only ones that can safeguard the country. How many police states in the world have used that as an excuse? Of course, the President does not have to go through these pat downs.
It is time the government starts treating the citizens like human beings and remember that it is the government that works for the people, not the other way around. Anything less, and the government fails to meet the standard for moral conduct and ethical discharge of duty, and that is a violation of the sacred trust the government has with the people.
