Freedom of Body

Young man from latin america, amid strenuous competition for jobs,becomes a major league baseball player in the united states, fulfilling his childhood dream. Gifted with great natural athletic talent, his career in big league baseball is successful, but only about average, nothing special, nothing approaching what he seems capable of.

He signs a contact to play with his fourth different team in six years, and suddenly, his performance changes drastically; he starts to perform at an incredibly high level, and continues this through most of the baseball season, until, one day, he is tested for performance enhancing drugs, in accordance with baseball rules.

He fails the drug test, testosterone having been found in his bloodstream, and he is suspended for fifty games, without pay. He will be allowed to return to the field next season, but he dare not use any drugs again, because he will certainly be tested, and if he is caught a second time, he will be suspended a full season.

Was the sudden improvement in his performance caused by the performance enhancing drug? There is strong evidene indicating so. Other athletes have done the same thing, with the same results.

And if you happen to be a middle aged runner, or amateur tennis player, you cannot hlep but ask, in the very back of your mind: "what would performance enhancing drugs do for MY game?" Most of us will never know, much as we might secretely like to.

What is steroids were legalized, and we all began taking them, together? Would every athlete in the world, every B tennis player, every 9 minute miler, every weekend golfer suddenly become extremely, almost like a professional?

Should we consider doing this? Our descendents might, for all we know. The more relevant question is: how far should society go in legislating what a person may legally do to and injest into his or her own body?

Obviously, steroids,  alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, marijuana, ad infinitum, are harmful to people. So are saturated fats, which are now banned in restaurants in new york city, incredibly. We want our professional athletes to be steroid free, granted. But we also want a country in which nobody need ever fear being approached by a police officer who politely requests a blood sample  in order to find out what is is in it.

The distance between these two countries is much smaller than you might think.

Bb

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