Week 5 Privacy rights

The article on Access to Online Local Government Public Record basically reaffirms to my mind that we live in the age of the stalker with just a little bit of information to start with its scary how much can be found out about a person, as anyone who has found themselves on the wrong side of a news camera can a test to. How many times has a persons life been torn apart by the media aided by sunshine law or freedom of information laws. I personally believe that the general public's right to know stops at a private persons front door. Politicians give up the right to privacy but the average person minding their own business has not by any action or consent given a reporter the right to view their digital life.



Personally I find I don't truly have an opinion about stem cell research that doesn't change based upon the last thing I read or the age of the patrons I have dealt with that day so I would like to move on and focus on the Last article.



Body Research - ownership and use of Human Tissue



I believe that we own the cells we generate unless we choose to donate it for a specific cause, People donate blood to help save lives but until that blood leaves their body for that purpose its their blood, we would be outraged as a collective if people just randomly walked up to someone with a needle and took their blood why are we not outraged with the idea of someone walking off with a biopsy specimen? Just because it was removed for our own good and we consented to that removal the expectation is that after tests are run its going to be disposed of permanently not disposed of by giving it a new identity.



The supreme court has a lot of issues to look at and take into account but the reason they are the highest court in the land is to make the rules that work for everyone and are best for the country not to pixy on their job by making half rulings.



I was a little confused that people though that they could have their tissue sent to a different lab just because a researcher changed jobs after all you donate tissue to an institution and a cause not a person.



The one point that all of these article reinforced is that once something is in the public domain be it information or tissue there is no protecting who has access to it so be aware of what is out there and don't publish or donate anything you wouldn't want your stalker to collect.